Life Hack for Moms with Highly Sensitive Kiddos: Put YOUR Oxygen Mask On First
So here you are again, picking your 6-year-old up from the principal’s office…
Because she just had another meltdown during recess and bit one of the older kids for looking at her funny.
You were with a client when the school called, and before the day is over, you’re booked back-to-back with five more.
You weren’t even planning on taking a lunch break today, and you’ve had to pee for at least an hour, even though you can’t recall your last drink of water.
To top it all off, everyone seems to need something from you today.
“Will you look over this and tell me if the dates are correct?”
“Have you placed the order for next month’s supplies yet?”
“Can you show me how to access this client’s account again?”
"Did you see the email from corporate about our new collections policy?"
"Where can I find a three-hole punch that works?"
You feel like you’re one more question away from telling everyone to stick it you-know-where and catching a red-eye flight to Maui for a 12-month spa weekend.
So the last thing you needed was a call from the school to come pick up your child, who, apparently, now has a taste for human flesh.
You scroll through your contact list looking for a friend who owes you a favor, but there’s no one.
It kills you to have to do it, but you cancel your next appointment and head to the school.
On the way there, you seriously consider stopping at the pet store to purchase a muzzle, and for the first time today, you laugh.
And then... the dread sets in.
Anxiety. Shame.
You wonder what sort of judgment you’re going to receive this time.
Maybe they’ll ask if “things have changed at home.”
Maybe they’ll recommend therapy… again.
Maybe they’ll tell you she can’t come back to school until she can learn to control herself like a "normal," well-behaved little girl.
Because it’s not the first time you’ve had to pick her up like this, even though her teachers recognize how sensitive she is…
How she’s wired a little differently.
And when she’s not getting into trouble for outbursts and meltdowns, they tell you she’s such a sweetheart.
And you know exactly what they mean.
But no one seems to know how to help her cope when she’s not so sweet.
She’s seen the school counselor a few times, which does always seem to help, but so far, the results are fleeting.
You know she’s not a “problem child” at heart.
She’s not a trouble-maker, nor a delinquent.
She’s not just a “spoiled little brat.”
And she’s certainly not “going through a phase.”
It pains you to watch her suffer like this, and you’ve laid awake countless nights, wracking your brain for ways you can help her.
The anxiety wears on you day after day.
You’re exhausted.
Mentally, physically, and spiritually.
Between work, school, and the countless other obligations you have, your tank is borderline empty.
And tomorrow, you just might have to run on fumes.
Here's the thing...
You. Are. SO. Not. Alone.
As you already suspect, your situation isn't entirely uncommon.
MANY parents of highly sensitive children just like you know exactly what it’s like to face this kind of burnout and pain from watching their children suffer, desperate for a solution but having absolutely no idea where to find it.
But, do you want to know a secret?
The solution to your child’s pain is also the solution to your own pain.
Hear me out...
You know how in the event of an emergency on an airplane you’re told to put on your own oxygen mask first, before you try to help anyone else – namely, children?
Because when you try to put another's mask on first, you risk passing out before you can accomplish it, and then you *both* miss out on the life-giving oxygen you need to survive.
The same concept applies when it comes to helping (ahem, teaching) your highly sensitive kiddo how to navigate the ups and downs of everyday life.
When you know how to do these things for yourself first, how to manage your energy and appropriately channel your emotions for your highest good...
That's when real change and transformation can occur.
That’s when you can begin to give your kiddo the tools she really needs to not only cope, but to truly thrive.
That's how you can instill in her the lifelong courage to be her authentic, unique self.
Unapologetically.
And it's the greatest gift you could ever hope to give her.
But first, it starts with you.
Are you ready to put your oxygen mask on?
Click here to learn more.