LifeHacker: How to parent an empath
While many people have the capacity to have empathy for others, those who are characterized as empaths feel other people's feelings or physical sensations as if they are their own. It is not an official diagnosis, but it is estimated about 1-2% of the population may be empaths.
Shana Feibel, DO, assistant professor of clinical psychiatry & behavioral neuroscience in the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and a psychiatrist at the Lindner Center of Hope in Mason, gave LifeHacker tips for how to best parent a child who is an empath.
Feibel said it is important to reduce environmental clutter like visual, aural and textural stimuli for children who are empaths. This includes traveling with headphones or ear plugs or wearing soft and loose clothing.
"Because empaths may not realize when they are becoming overtired or over hungry, they could easily extend themselves too much,” Feibel added. “It is very important to teach them to listen to their body cues so that they can start regulating themselves at an early age.”
Featured photo at top courtesy of Unsplash.
Related Stories
Mural by UC grad honors U.S. military history
July 17, 2024
Local 12 highlighted a new mural by University of Cincinnati graduate and artist Brandon Hawkins that pays tribute to U.S. military history.
Social media fuels extreme political rhetoric
July 17, 2024
UC College of Arts and Sciences Professor Jeffrey Blevins tells Local 12 that online algorithms fuel political polarization on social media.
Camp aims to empower children, teens who stutter
July 17, 2024
A one-week, evidence-based program for children and teens who stutter at the University of Cincinnati will teach kids to communicate effectively, advocate for themselves and develop confidence about their communication abilities. Camp Dream. Speak. Live., which is coming to Cincinnati for the first time July 22-26, began in 2014 at the University of Texas at Austin. The Arthur M. Blank Center for Stuttering Education and Research at UT expects to serve more than 2,000 children at camps across the United States, Africa, Asia and Europe this year.