If you are raising an empath or a highly sensitive child, chances are you have found yourself reading through books to check for "scary" things and illustrations that may seem completely normal to most, but to your child they leave them feeeling unsettled.
My daughter began reading very early on in her life and the first thing she would do before reading-take a picture walk. If anything looked off she would set the book aside. For example one of the first times she did this I was completely shocked as it was a board book, very short and Winnie the Pooh (granted Winne the Pooh stories can be intense, but this one was short and simple, I thought). Rabbit had his hands on his hips and a frustrated look on his face-this was enough to leave my daughter uncomfortable.
After hours of talking with other families, I began to realized this is not an uncommon trait and in fact so many were struggling with finding books to read. Turns out, everything I had shared about empaths and highly sensitive children was coming full circle. As empaths we pick up on the nuances and we internalize what someone is feeling or going through. Yes-this happens with books and movies as well as in real life.
While I am here to share a wonderful new series with you, I am also here to encourage you to breathe though this. Don't force a story, instead, give your child time. You can ask what your child did not like, but please honor their feeling when they say they do not want to talk about it. GIve them time to process and later on maybe talk about what you noticed in the book. I took Rabbits hands on his hips and applied it to a real life moment. As I was cooking I put my hands on my hips and said, "I sure am frustrated, I just burned the bread." My daughter looked over at me and said "mama, I think that is how Rabbit was feeling, can you look for me and we can talk about it. "
We now take this approach with books. I wait, give her space and I look to see if I can model the behvaior/body language or...that she is struggling with. While this does not always lead to us reading the book, it does help her process her emotions and that is the most important part-as empaths we tend to internalize and hold onto everything.
So why am I so excited to share with you-We have found the most amazing series. It is called The Adventures of Sophie Mouse. My little one read through all 18 (book 19 will be released soon) books in
All this to say, you are not alone. I hope you enjoy this series as much as we have.
To start with one book click here Sophie Mouse
I look forward to hearing if you gave these books a try!
Hugs,
Joey
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