My Spirited Child

I mentioned I've been reading Raising Your Spirited Child. Eliza is my spirited child- at least so far I have only one. haha She is an an exuberant child and Pete and I want to discipline without crushing her spirit. Eliza buzzes like a bee from the moment she rises. You can almost feel her energy. She has always had difficulty dealing with all her excess- especially when it comes to settling down and relaxing. Eliza laughs hard, cries hard and does everything with MORE.

Here is a brief overview of how Mary Sheedy Kurcinka defines a spirited child.

Some characteristics that identify the spirited child are the following:

Intensity—meaning greater drama, easier cry response, making more demands on parents.

Persistence—gets committed to and stays with ideas, may argue points with parents long after an issue is settled.

High Energy Level—also sometimes labeled hyperactive, but many who write on this disorder do not want the term hyperactivity confused with the disorder.

Sensitive—may be overly sensitive to sounds, slight discomfort, pictures, and stimuli of all sorts.

Difficult Adaptability—may react with greater emotion to changes like attending school, or moving to a new house.

Moody—may be more prone to get cranky, but may also be susceptible to and more perceptive of the moods of others.

The book is extremely insightful. I actually have both the workbook and and the book and I plan on going through some of the exercises on here. The book takes a great look at what comprises temperament- including introversion and extroversion and what they really mean. It has really helped me to see Eliza much more clearly and to even look at Pete in a different light.

Next time I'll focus on two questions.

1. What do you enjoy most about your spirited child?
2. What do you find most challenging?