Children are a lot more open to the world of the unseen and
if my own two (not so) little cherubs are anything to go by, there are plenty
they experience. Because they have no framework at a young age to put the
experiences in, they often get missed in the babble of talking about imaginary
friends and storytelling games. Is there anything you can do to have those
conversations with your child where they tell you about their unusual
experiences? Of course there is.
1 Take
your child seriously when they talk to you about their imaginary friends. Some
of them may not be so imaginary. When our daughter spoke of seeing her
grandmother in her bedroom a few days after she died, she was too young to
understand the concept of death. She was perplexed by the fact that as far as
she was concerned, her grandmother was living in a different country. Until one
night she visited her granddaughter wearing her trademark polka dot blouse she
loved so much. Michelle was adamant in the morning that she spoke with grandma
in the night and the description she gave was a perfect likeness to what she
looked like before she died. The visit
was a comfort not only to her but the rest of the family and we wouldn’t have known
about it had we not taken the time and care to listen to her story.
2 Some
spirits in your house or around your children may not come from your family
tree. As it was the case with the house we live in. It's an old farmhouse and there
are plenty of spirit shenanigans going on on a daily basis. As it turned out, the
gentleman who built it was still around in his corporeal form after we have
taken ownership of it and he took his cranky self to the kids room at night on
occasion. Having not the heart to dispatch the old man from the house he built,
we still wanted to take some steps to make the kids more comfortable sleeping
in their own beds at night. We have put a sign on the door of their room that
said loud and clear, "NO SPIRITS ARE ALLOWED!". That took care of
that problem. They felt they have exerted their authority over their own room and
who is allowed in and peace at night has returned once again. The old man was
never felt or seen in that room again.
3 Sometimes
it's hard for children to put into words what they see, especially if they have
no concept of it, such as someone walking through a wall or hovering on the
ceiling. In that case asking them to draw what they experienced will make it
easier for them to recall the experience and getting them to talk about it. It
also helps in getting the scale of what they experienced and some clues on how
they feel about it.
4 Sometimes
siblings will have shared experiences. Depending on their age and the age gap
in between them, they might express their experiences differently. It's
important to be supportive and listen to what they have to say and give them a
platform that promotes trust and a feeling of not being alone with their
experiences. Kids are naturally mediumistic and some will grow up keeping their
ability and growing it, however some will push it into the background only for
it to come out later in life in a higher intensity but with much less control.
5 Introducing
concepts such as angels and spirit guides is all and well. However I would very
much caution against labelling any sort of spirit or other paranormal
experiences as evil. Apart from causing unnecessary stress for children, as
they have no understanding of what it is other than it's bad, it can cause
severe anxiety that will last for years and other disorders.
6 If you're
concerned and you feel that you need to discuss your child's experiences, I suggest that you do that away from your
child. Children are very perceptive and will pick up on your beliefs about
their experiences. They will need you to be the one they look to for comfort
and as a confidant that won't laugh at them. You might not be of the opinion
that what they experiences was real but to them it was.
In any case, the most important to remember is that if you
are concerned about the mental or physical wellbeing of your child, you need to
see an appropriate health professional without delay.
No comments:
Post a Comment