What's an emotionally intense child?

If you're here reading this, chances are you have an emotionally intense child, and you're struggling and questioning yourself for one reason or another.

You're not alone!

First things first, if the words resonates with you, then you most probably have an emotionally intense child (or more than one). You know your child's best! 

An emotionally intense child feels deeply and reacts more intensely then most kids the same age to many kinds of situation.

They can also be unpredictable in the way that they sometimes collaborate perfectly in a setting and absolutely not the next time in the same setting. 

When other children may be  disappointed or frustrated when we refuse something they want, emotionally intense kids can meltdown, have physical outbursts, or internalized reactions that are difficult to understand.

They all have their particularities but I see them as 3 different types:

• Lion
• Hedgehog
• Sloth 

The Lion

The lion child is always on the move, loud most of the time, really curious and inquisitive and don’t really care about social expectations or is just not able to control themselves to behave in that expected way, no matter how often you repeat yourself or how hard they try. 

It's a child who's externalized in their reactions everywhere and acts out at home as much as everywhere else.

You might get daily call from school, they probably have some service in school settings and you're most likely judged for not being able to control them. 

The Hedgehog

The hedgehog child looks very sweet, calm and in control out of the house but will explode once at home and with people they are closer and more comfortable with. They are generally really sensitive and creative. They might be more whinny and cry more then the Lion, but can also be very intense in their reactions. 

It's a child that is internalized in their reactions out of the house, but externalized at home so others don't see it and most of the time don't understand what you mean and don't trust you when you're sharing your experience, you're probably judged (and might judge yourself) like you are the problem since it's all happening in your house/with you.

For that reason they probably don't get access to any support in school settings even if they could benefit from some.

The Sloth

The Sloth is a child who's sweet, calm, looks in control, is often alone, helpful to adults, don't talk loudly or run around and is generally really careful. They are really reserved and might be seen as slow, lazy or shy. When they react it's more in subtle whining or crying, you might tel them to speak up often. 

It's a child who's Internalized in their reactions everywhere, which means they often go under the radar even for parents, so I'm not even really expecting their parents to read this 😉, so if you are, congrats for being so in tune.

Even if they don't look like it, they are still struggling inside and things might get harder as they grow older and there's more demand and more stress in their life. 

Start here, download the guide to get some quick realizations and fixes. 

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What to start to change things in your family lige?

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