The Highly Sensitive Child Quotes

“Children are seriously children for about a decade. But for five or more decades after that, they will be your friend - if you're fortunate to like each other.”
― Elaine N. Aron, The Highly Sensitive Child: Helping Our Children Thrive When The World Overwhelms Them

“Yes, your child will be more aware of the problems and the pain in the world. But perhaps the best definition of happiness came from Aristotle: We are happiest when doing what, by nature, we were born to do best. The born dancer is happiest dancing, not quite as happy when baking pies. The born gardener is happiest gardening, not quite so happy trying to write poetry. But one thing all humans were born to do, by nature, is simply to be aware,”
― Elaine N. Aron, The Highly Sensitive Child: Helping Our Children Thrive When the World Overwhelms Them

“Beware of talking so much that your child becomes quiet because he cannot think of things to say as fast as you can. You tend to leap (or speak) first and look a little later. Your child is thinking over what you have said and what to say back, while you may have already changed the subject. Leave silences.”
― Elaine N. Aron, The Highly Sensitive Child: Helping Our Children Thrive When the World Overwhelms Them

“Traditionally, sensitive people have been the scientists, counselors, theologians, historians, lawyers, doctors, nurses, teachers, and artists (for example, at one time sensitive people naturally became their town’s schoolmaster or -mistress, preacher, or family doctor). But, increasingly, sensitive persons are being nudged out of all these fields due to what seems to be a cycle that starts with the nonsensitive moving aggressively into decision-making roles, where they, quite naturally due to their temperaments, devalue cautious decision making, emphasize short-term profits or flashy results assertively presented over a quieter concern for consistent quality and long-term consequences, and do not need and so eliminate calm work environments and reasonable work schedules. Sensitive people are discounted, have less influence, suffer, or quit. Then the nonsensitive control the profession even more.”
― Elaine N. Aron, The Highly Sensitive Child: Helping Our Children Thrive When the World Overwhelms Them

“About homework: Be highly available to give any kind of assistance, and stay involved for the first few years to see that things are done properly and handed in on time. But give up this responsibility as soon as possible. HSCs need to pay attention to these details, asking if necessary, rather than relying on their often keen but sometimes wrong intuition about what they think is expected. Your goal is for your child to become independent and self-motivated, so that he does homework because it benefits his long-term goals, not because others have insisted on it. In fact, at this age, most or all of the conflicts should be within the HSC. She wants to do the homework and does not want to do it. She wants to be helpful and does not want to. You can help clarify her reasons for doing and not doing—in the case of homework, the fatigue, boredom, or other interests versus the long-term life consequences of not doing it. You may emphasize the long-term impact—that is usually the adult viewpoint—but do not fail to acknowledge the other side, too.”
― Elaine N. Aron, The Highly Sensitive Child: Helping Our Children Thrive When the World Overwhelms Them

“Let’s fully admit how difficult it is to be a parent and highly sensitive. We need our alone time, but there is no truly alone time with an infant, especially if you have more than one child and also a partner (or even more difficult, you are a single parent). And what if you have a career, aging parents, or other responsibilities? Forget finding time for the things you need, like a night of uninterrupted sleep, creative work done alone, time in nature, and meditation or prayer. Others can survive without these. We can for a while, but we eventually start to wither.”
― Elaine N. Aron, The Highly Sensitive Child: Helping Our Children Thrive When the World Overwhelms Them

“parents to read, since even highly sensitive parents will”
― Elaine N. Aron, The Highly Sensitive Child: Helping Our Children Thrive When the World Overwhelms Them

“Is Your Child Highly Sensitive? A Parent’s Questionnaire Please answer each question as best you can. Answer TRUE if it is true or at least moderately true of your child, or was for a substantial time in the past. Answer FALSE if it has not been very true of your child, or was never true. My child . . .”
― Elaine N. Aron, The Highly Sensitive Child: Helping Our Children Thrive When the World Overwhelms Them

“under stress, HSCs can return to the behaviors and problems of a younger age, and when feeling good HSCs can act older than their age, so the advice for an age that your child is not may still apply right now;”
― Elaine N. Aron, The Highly Sensitive Child: Helping Our Children Thrive When the World Overwhelms Them