While sitting in the waiting room during my children's dental appointment, I pick up the People Magazine lying on the table.  I open it and am instinctively drawn to an article about a couple who have been killed.  My curiosity leads me to read it.  It is disturbing, yet I keep on reading.  I finish the article before my children come back into the waiting room.  We leave.

 

As I drive, I notice some interesting things.  The story I have just read remains on my mind, along with the emotions I experienced while reading it.  I feel more scattered - anxious in fact.  I make careless mistakes while driving.  When we stop at the grocery store, I have difficulty focusing.  I snap at my children.  Then it dawns on me… the article I read at the dentist's office has impacted not only my mood, but my functioning.   

 

Why am I surprised by this?  I am sensitive.  I feel the pain of others so much that, at times, it literally hurts.  When I read or hear about a tragedy, it often remains on my mind for days.  And so it is with our sensitive children.

 

I think about the information they are exposed to on a daily basis.  The news they hear in the car or see on television.   The stories they read about in the newspaper.  They take it all in and it impacts them.    

 

As much as we may want to, we cannot live in a bubble.  This is our world.  However, there are some things that we can do to help ourselves and our children cope with the barrage of disturbing information that comes our way. 

 

     1. Recognize how this information impacts our own mood, emotions and functioning.

 

     2. Talk with our children about the connection between what our minds take in and the impact it has on us.

 

     3.  Pay attention to times when our children may be impacted by something they read, hear or see.

 

     3.  Role model how to manage this by limiting what you take in.  Once a day is plenty!

 

     4.  When your children experience troubling stories, discuss them and try to answer their questions.

 

     5.  Sit with them and seek out stories together that demonstrate the good in the world.  For positive news stories, you can try       www.youtube.com/user/goodnewsnetwork.

 

     6.  Transition to a new activity.  Go outside, take a walk, play a game and help them move on.

 

In doing these simple things, we help prepare our children for an optimistic future.