Schooling and the Highly Sensitive Child: Interviews with Parents

Schooling and the highly sensitive child remains a challenge for so many.

My sons have two weeks left of this school year. It’s our first one with all three children in primary school. I won’t lie to you – it’s been a tough one with my youngest getting used to a new rhythm and all three boys battling with coping in classes of over thirty children. They’ve had lots of different teachers in front of them, all tallied up between the three of them we are well into double figures. I’ll be glad when the summer holidays are here. So will they. When it comes to raising highly sensitive children schooling is time and time again a challenge. So what’s the solution?

The Challenges of Schooling and the Highly Sensitive Child

I’ve spoken to different parents who have all faced various issues with their highly sensitive children in school.  They have seen their children battle with anxiety, lose their enthusiasm for learning, struggle with busy classrooms. They all opted for a change, in most cases a big change.

I have talked to parents who now homeschool their child after time in the public education system. I have interviewed parents who opted to switch a public school for a private school. And I have spoken to parents in different countries. I have asked them why they made changes, and asked them to talk about the effects those changes have had on their highly sensitive children.

Their hope is that by sharing the journey they have been on other parents may realise that they are not in a unique situation, they are not alone, and that there are options.

There are Options and We Can Learn From Each Other

Decisions about schooling our children are tough ones to make but where are children spend the majority of their day from Monday to Friday has a huge impact on how they behave and how they see the world around them. It’s important that we get it right – and important that we as parents get all the support we can to make an informed decision. There is no one size fits all solution when it comes to school and the highly sensitive child – but we can share our experiences. We can learn from each other.

Parent Interviews Summary

You can read all the posts in the interview series here:

Why I Switched from Public Schooling to Homeschooling

Homeschooling a Highly Sensitive Child

Why I Am Moving My Child to a Democratic School

Finding the Right School for a Highly Sensitive Child