Christian Counseling for Children

Highly sensitive children are those whose nervous systems process stimuli more deeply and intensely than the norm, making them supersensitive to their surroundings and easily overwhelmed by the sensations they experience. In her book, The Highly Sensitive Child, psychologist Elaine Aron depicts highly sensitive children as perceiving more, pondering more, and feeling more in every situation that they quickly reach their limits and the sensory overload becomes more than they can handle. Common Characteristics of Highly Sensitive Children Their brains never turn off. Highly sensitive children are acutely tuned in to everything and everyone in their surroundings, and tend to be extremely bright, intuitive, reflective, and insightful. They take in more sensory information from their environment than most other kids do, notice subtle details and nuances that are typically overlooked, process information more thoroughly, and often have an amazing memory and recall of details. They are easily overwhelmed by sensory stimuli. Highly sensitive children have a more reactive nervous system than the norm, which causes them to experience noise, light, smells, tastes, and textures more intensely than other children do. They have a heightened awareness of subtle details, such as faint sounds, barely perceptible smells, and slight changes in temperature or visual clues that other kids often ignore, which can lead to becoming overstimulated and overwhelmed by these sensations. They are deeply empathetic. Highly sensitive children can empathize deeply with the emotions of others, pick up on subtle cues in interpersonal dynamics, and are quick to comfort or offer help. They have an intense need to be in control. Highly sensitive children have a strong sense of caution and consequences, and try to diminish risks by overthinking potential outcomes. They find comfort in predictability, which may lead them to be rigid, inflexible, and resistant to anything new. In an [...]

Divorce is hard. Sometimes in an effort to protect ourselves from the hurt and pain, we inadvertently dismiss what the children of divorce think or feel. Or, we believe them when they say they don’t want to talk about the divorce or that they don’t care. We want to believe that they will come out of this all right. The truth is that divorce affects every member of the family. It’s important to be open and honest with your child, but also watch out for any signs that they are having difficulty accepting the new living arrangements. If your child is having trouble, it might be time to enlist the help of a professional therapist. Speaking to Children of Divorce There can be multiple reasons why the communication breaks down between parents and children amid a divorce. It could be that talking about the divorce is too upsetting to the parent, so they simply tell their child in a brief statement about divorce. It could be that the child is hurt about the divorce but doesn’t want to admit it. Children of divorce sometimes shrug off the situation to keep their emotions at arm’s length. They may feel betrayed and decide that it is better to distance themselves to keep from getting hurt again. Other children may blame themselves for their parents’ inability to cohabitate. Whatever the reason, you can prevent miscommunication by talking openly to your child about the forthcoming changes before the separation, if possible. If you can, schedule a time when both parents can sit down with the child and explain the new arrangements. There is no need to go into detail about why the decision was made, but reiterate that both parents love the child. Of course, sitting down with the other parent before the [...]