My daughter is a sensitive child. She cries easily. Her feelings can get hurt quickly and she takes many things personally.
My daughter is a sensitive child. She needs time to process new information and she does not like to make mistakes.
My daughter can be a dreamer. She loves to plan ahead and think of the future of when she becomes a doctor and helps children all over the world.
The world is sometimes a cold place for children like my daughter. Other children see her kindness as a weakness. They see her cry and use it as a victory as they stomp upon her innocence.
Many adults choose to ignore her pain. Those who are meant to protect my daughter will laugh it off or ignore. They will tell her to move on. My daughter cannot move on.
She cannot move on when her heart hurts and she can't speak because she feels as if her throat is pressed together too tight to even breathe.
She tells me she's dumb. She tells me she can't do it. When adults tell her she needs to try harder, to move quicker. She cries. She asks me "why can't I do it?" But my darling daughter can. It's at a slower pace, but she can. It may take a bit longer, but she will get there. I believe in her. She tells me "They don't believe in me. They think I'm dumb."
My daughter is a sensitive child and this world is not fair for children like her.
They tell me she needs thicker skin. They tell me that she'll learn to get over it. They tell me it will make her stronger in the end.
In the end.
Is that what we really want from our sensitive children? To hope they don't break? I suppose those Others assume that with enough pressure, the hardness will turn into a diamond.
Or it can shatter.
Is it worth it?
