The Highly Sensitive Child: Helping Our Children Thrive When the World Overwhelms Them (Paperback)

by Elaine Aron (Author) "Well, if he were my child, he'd eat what was set before him..." (more)
Key Phrases: nonsensitive people, temperament perspective, highly sensitive person, Low Medium High, United States, Stanley Greenspan (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
As a highly sensitive person (HSP) herself and a psychotherapist, Aron is in a strong position to provide guidance to parents who are raising highly sensitive children (HSCs), and provides here a wealth of useful suggestions and case studies. The author, who has studied and written about what she calls "high sensitivity" (The Highly Sensitive Person), states that this is a personality trait that occurs in 15% to 20% of the population. Although HSCs tend to be "empathetic, smart, intuitive, careful and conscientious," they are also easily overstimulated and require informed parenting in order to prevent temper tantrums, stress illnesses and the avoidance of pleasurable group activities. Aron offers helpful advice that will assist both nonsensitive and highly sensitive parents through all stages of their child's development from infancy to adolescence. For example, since HSCs have great difficulty with change, it is necessary to prepare them gently so that they do not feel powerless during transitions. According to the author, there are four basic strategies that will help an HSC to become a happy adult: parents should foster their child's self-esteem, try to reduce the feelings of shame HSCs may develop because they are different, employ only mild positive discipline and learn how to talk positively to teachers and friends about their HSC so that interactions will be productive.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"To have an exceptional child you must be willing to have an exceptional child. You have one. And this book will teach you how to raise him to be not only exeptional, but healthy, loving, well-adjusted, and happy." Elaine N. Aron, Ph.D. Praise for The Highly Sensitive Person: 'This remarkable book speaks clearly to highly sensitive people. It gives a fresh perspective, a sigh of relief, and a good sense of where we belong in society.' JOHN GRAY, author of Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Broadway; 1 edition (October 8, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767908724
• ISBN-13: 978-0767908726
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,765 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #27 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Personal Health > Children's Health > Special Needs Children
  #34 in	Books > Parenting & Families > Special Needs
  #47 in	Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Sociology > Marriage & Family

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

80 of 80 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a comfort and a relief, November 20, 2002

By A Customer

It was wonderful to read this book. For seven years I've been looking for someone to understand when I talk about my daughter's agony over the seams in her socks, her inability to eat in Italian restaurants because of the strong smell, her discomfort with the volume of sound in movies or the way she always gets homesick (literally ill) if we go on a vacation that lasts more than a couple of days. As someone who never thought twice about any of those things, I appreciate Aron's insights and her suggestions about parenting someone who is so easily overwhelmed. I originally got the book from the library but had to buy my own copy because there was something I wanted ot underline or make a note to remember on almost every page.

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enriching, May 13, 2004

By	"uprise" (Arlington, VA) - See all my reviews

I purchased this book, hoping to learn more about my 8-year old child's behavior traits so that I could commingle our characteristics and avoid damaging his spirit when I criticize or discipline-not to pamper but to nurture. This book did just that, plus more. The Highly Sensitive Child : Helping Our Children Thrive When the World Overwhelms Them is a very good read. It provides a lot of information about how highly-sensitive people react to certain stimuli and suggestions for different situations. It's educational and entertaining and the author's prose is straightforward. I selected this book from the many others on similar topics simply because the title hit home. It struck a cord and I knew this was it. I was right.

Not only was I reading about my child, I discovered that I am an HSP as well. I was not aware of the term "highly sensitive" until now. I plan to read more on the subject and keep this book around for my child to use later on in life. I now feel that we are in a win-win position for the long term.

Thank you, Dr. Elaine Aron, for writing this book and for sharing your personal experience on this subject.

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars My child is NOT "strange"!!, July 16, 2003

By A Customer

For five years I have been trying to describe my son to his teachers, other parents, and even to our family. I've struggled with words like, "shy," "quiet," "introverted," "cognitive," and -- the worst one -- "a bit of a loner." None of these captured him. Others have called him "unique," "gentle," "an intellect," "not a joiner." I was insulted by all these labels. But Aron's book finally gave me the right words! My son is an HSC --simple as that. And this book helped me understand this as a wonderful thing, requiring some understanding and accomodations. Aron provides some great suggestions for helping your HSC, and helps parents discover ways to advocate for their HSC in the schools. After reading this book, I bought a copy for my son's teacher and highlighted the relevant sections. She told me this morning that it "shed new light on a perplexing situation." She understands. As a clinical psychologist and as a mother, I highly recommend this book. If nothing else, it will help you and your child "normalize" your experiences. Why only 4 stars? The only downfall of this book is that Aron back-pedals too much. She too often describes the exceptions to every rule, and at times you might feel that she is unsure of her own definitions. But, ultimately, if this is your child, you will recognize him/her right away. And the suggestions in this book will help.