6 Things That Helped Our HSC Cope With the World

Oct 19, 2016

I have been writing about our experiences raising a highly sensitive child (HSC) for three years now. One thing I haven’t been able to do is to offer advice as many articles do. I have very mixed feelings about advice, and although a lot of it out there is helpful, a lot more of it is not.

I got to see firsthand, after having two very different kids, that advice doesn’t often work as a one-size-fits-all kind of thing. What may work for one child may not work for another. What may work for most children, may not work for a smaller group of very normal, and lovely children. And the parents of those children should not be made to feel otherwise when the advice they think should work, doesn’t.

That’s actually my biggest problem with advice, as the mother of a child who belongs to the smaller group.

Many people have asked me what we’ve done to help our highly sensitive son. For those of you have been reading our stories, you’ll know that the little boy who once hated people and couldn’t deal with noise, is now one of the most sociable children I know.

To this day I don’t have any one answer to that question. The changes our son has been through are immense, and it wasn’t just one thing that was responsible for this. I do however have a list of things I know helped, and some that I suspect may have helped.

Here they are, the 5 things that helped our HSC cope with the world.

(1) The Move

When our son was 3, we moved to Singapore, a wonderland for families with young children. As opposed to our daily life back home, we started to spend most of our time outdoors. Since he was tiny, our son was always extremely peaceful when we were outside, in places that of course weren’t crowded or noisy. Singapore is also a very social place where neighbors just knock on your door and kids visit all the time. In the beginning that made him very anxious—it made me anxious as well; I’m highly sensitive too—but in the way that conditioning works, things slowly started to change and he now is the one who goes knocking on doors.

(2) Being There

When we moved I left my full-time job and became a stay-at-home mom. I have no idea if my presence helped at all, but if anything, I was there to take him out all the time. I am in no way suggesting that other parents should consider staying home to be there. Sometimes that’s not really an option. And to be very honest, it drove me absolutely crazy in the beginning, which wasn’t good for anyone. But I’d like to think, now that I’ve been through it, that it wasn’t for nothing.

(3) Finding the Right School

Our son’s first school was a nightmare for all of us. The teachers were inflexible and judgmental. They never missed a chance to let us know how difficult he was. When he started at his new school after the move, he was suddenly surround by teachers who were calm, patient, and allowed him to sit in the “quite corner” of the class for as long as he needed to. The teacher would put him in her lap during circle time if wanted to take part but was nervous. She would meet with me frequently to talk about his development at school and at home, and together we would agree on the next steps. She was firm but gentle. She knew when to gently push him to do something she knew he was ready for. She gave him his time and her love and understanding.

And as I type this, I can’t help but cry, because we felt our life change when we had her in it. I strongly believe, with all my heart, that a teacher can make the whole difference. This one did.

(4) Play Dates

Play dates were something we never had before the move. The opportunity to meet with kids after school was great to help our HSC learn to play with others, starting slowly with one child at a time. We avoided group play dates because those were too much. There was a time when I thought they were useless, watching my son play in one corner by himself and his friend entertaining himself in another. But eventually, one baby step at a time, play dates became more social, and very educational.

(5) Story Books

Since he was very little, our HSC has been inspired by stories. He will often go to the bookshelf and find a story to help him with his struggles. Unfortunately, not many stories speak to the HSC—although today I feel like that number is increasing—and that was when I decided to write stories to inspire him. My first draft of All Too Much for Oliver, which I’ve since published, really resonated with him and he wanted me to read it over and over again. Now I can’t say if that helped him, but I’d really like to think it did.

Of course, I’m not saying your should go write a book for your child, there is a growing number of picture books coming out that are quiet, gentle, and SEL (social emotional learning) focused.

(6) Knowing What’s Up

When we found out our son was highly sensitive—which was when we discovered Elaine Aron and her book, The Highly Sensitive Child—our attitudes and expectations automatically changed. Everyone at home seemed to calm down and relax about things. Instead of worrying about why he wasn’t doing something yet, we understood that he was taking the time to observe and understand and that he would go ahead when he was ready.

I really think that when parents are calmer about things, kids will pick up on that which helps them become more confident. The opposite of course is also true. We weren’t horrible parents before we found out, but we were worried and tired, and we were desperate to have “normal” lives. Once we let go of all that and accepted things as they were, things started to change.

I’ll say again that children are so very different, even if they share the sensitivity trait. So what worked for us may not work for other families. Some kids require much more time to adapt and understand themselves, and that’s fine. I will never take credit for the changes our son went through, but I do like to think the support we offered helped make his journey a smoother and happier one.