Rejection sensitivity: three strategies that actually help

Some children feel rejection, criticism or failure as a sudden wave of emotional pain so strong it can feel physical. Often called rejection sensitivity, it turns small moments into big ones and can leave parents unsure what they did wrong. This piece looks at what is really going on, and offers three practical things you can try this week to help your child feel safer, steadier and less alone with it.

Learning outcomes:

• See why a small knock can feel enormous to your child, and why the reaction is felt, not chosen.
• Stay close in the moment instead of rushing to fix.
• Soften how feedback and correction arrive, so they are heard rather than felt as rejection.
• Notice the good far more than you correct.
• Offer an easy way back after a hard moment, so it doesn’t feel like the end.