July/August 2022 Alchemical Voice

When parents realise they have a sensitive child,
they often want to know how can they can help
their child adjust to the world. It’s an important
question because whereas dandelion children
seem to have a natural resilience to stress, for
more sensitive children, the environment and the
way they are responded to makes big a difference.
Dr. Bryce’s research found that with the right
nurture, orchid children can truly thrive.
Here are some tips for supporting a sensitive
child…
Accept them for who they are - we can’t
change who they are and if we try to “toughen
them up” we risk actually damaging their wellbeing
and making them less likely to handle
life’s stresses. If we focus on providing an
environment that helps them to feel confident
in who they naturally are, they can learn to use
their sensitivity in a way that works for them,
not against them.
Focus on connection & empathy - they thrive
on it and need it to feel nurtured and soothed.
As with all children, when they experience
empathy and nurture, they will learn about
compassion for others, and about selfcompassion
too.
Help them to learn about emotions, how to
express themselves & how to self-regulate.
This will help them when they are
overwhelmed by other people’s emotions or
by their own.
Help them to know what their environment
can do for them - it will be important for them
to understand when a smell or noise has
caused them to feel overwhelmed, and for
them to know what changes they can make to
their environment to help.
Enable them to live in & understand their own
window of tolerance. We need to help them
feel brave enough to step out of their comfort
zone so they can develop their confidence
while recognising when a situation or
environment is overwhelming and knowing
how to manage this.
Sarah Emerson, Cocoro provides parent support and educational
consultancy, and offers an online store for toys, books and
resources to support children’s emotional well-being.
www.wearecocoro.co.uk
@wearecocoro