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Parent Your Highly Sensitive Child Like A NinjaAuthor: Megghan Thompson
You are a parent of a Highly Sensitive Child and are ready to gain skills that will help you feel capable and confident disciplining your child or teen while helping them feel understood in a world that says they are "too much". Each week, Megghan Thompson, an experienced mental health therapist and Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor (RPT-S), dives into the topic of parenting highly sensitive children and teens. If you're ready to stop drowning in your child's explosive and out of control emotions and eliminate daily meltdowns, this show is for you. Language: en Genres: Kids & Family, Parenting Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it Trailer: |
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Does FAFO parenting work for sensitive kids?
Friday, 15 August, 2025
I've noticed a new parenting trend going viral on social media, and even a WSJ article focusing on it recently: FAFO parenting, which stands for "F-ck Around and Find Out". On the surface, it seems to make sense - give kids freedom to make their own mistakes, then let them face the natural consequences Especially for those of us raising highly sensitive kids, FAFO parenting can sound very tempting when we're at our wits' end with the daily meltdowns and shutdowns. But here's why FAFO is actually the WORST approach for our sensitive kids: Sensitive kids need MORE guidance and scaffolding, not less. Their nervous systems are already overwhelmed trying to process so much input. Throwing them into the deep end to "f-ck around and find out" will only lead to more dysregulation and meltdowns. What they need is a compassionate co-regulator (that's you!) to guide them through tricky situations and model healthy coping skills. Sensitive kids internalize shame very deeply. The "find out" part of FAFO usually involves some form of shaming, whether that's an "I told you so" attitude or even blatant mocking when kids make a mistake. For sensitive kids, shame is like poison to their sense of self. They will take those shaming messages straight to their core and believe there is something wrong with them. Building their self-esteem requires empathy and emotional attunement, not shame and "tough love". Sensitive kids need resilience to demonstrate creative problem solving. If your child is demonstrating the meltdown cycle, watch our free training here: https://www.megghanthompsoncoaching.com/5-shifts-registration If your teen is struggling to engage with your family, shutting down and struggling with a perfectionism spiral, watch our free training here: https://www.megghanthompsoncoaching.com/tp/5-steps-registration If you're ready to book a call with our team, use this link: https://www.megghanthompsoncoaching.com/pod/book-your-call-now For families with high school aged teens, use this link: https://www.megghanthompsoncoaching.com/tp/teentalk
