[.ca] The Highly Sensitive Child: Helping Our Children Thrive ... (ISBN 0767908724)

My child is NOT "strange"!!:
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.

Good advice, Too wordy:
For someone who hasn't read a lot of parenting books, this might be a great book, but for the reader who has read a parenting book or two and just needs some specific tips, everything is over-explained and just too wordy. I found myself skimming and just reading the headlines, because it is so repetitive and explains everything as if you had become a parent yesterday. A decent editor could have cut down this book to half the size and packed in the same information. If you have a sensitive kid, the book still is very good and will give you a good sense of what things to watch out for and how to adjust your parenting style. If you read quickly then it won't be too much of a burden for you, either. To me it was very helpful with my sensitive child and my sensitive husband and sensitive sister. It gives you a new perspective and does let you know that you aren't alone with these problems.

Like a guide book to my child! A true revelation!:
From the start I knew a had a higher maintenance kid than my friends' kids (lots of high highs and low lows & very fussy and picky and extremely aware of everything that is going on around her) - but I was always in denial of it - until I read this book. This book is a godsend to our family. Me, my husband and my child are all happier people after reading this book. We've purchased a copy to give to the teachers at school. I am so grateful for this book. A load of stress has been eliminated from our lives.

Good for babysitters too:
Not only a great book for parents of sensitive children, it is also a good book for babysitters and daycare teachers, and for parents to share with them as part of being an advocate for your child's development. ...

Enriching:
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.