Parenting An Empath
I don't believe parenting an empath has to be a complicated task. More than anything, guiding someone gifted will require patience, access to guidance, and a lot of compassion. But, I think these are things that we should be offering to not just our children, but to each other daily.
I say this from personal experience -- clearly. Growing up empathic, could be challenging at times, but it wasn't just because my parents weren't incredibly open to it. It was because of the lack of awareness I had about the gift of empathy in general. As a child, I was convinced that the type of feelings I had about things was human nature for everyone else. There were times I would blurt something out and get a perplexed look from others around me; it was then that I began to realize I was a little different.
I distinctly remember standing in the kitchen one day discussing my mom’s oldest sister, Glenda. Aunt Glenda died when I was just a year old, but she had been my caretaker while my mom worked that year of life. My mom told me stories of how she had told everyone that I was her kid! Years later, I would tell my mom, “If Aunt Glenda were really dead, she would contact me.” There wasn’t a closed jaw in the room. But, I felt strongly about this until the day I did indeed speak with her! Even in my youth, I believed that there was something on the “other side” and that I could see, feel, and communicate with it. When I was a child, I always had questions about “Where we were before here,” I had no idea what past lives were, and certainly not in our Southern Baptist household, but I was convinced there was an existence that preceded this one. But more than the things I remember saying, I can recall my Dad once telling me, “The dead know nothing.” I had a big issue with that, I couldn’t settle myself, but I also didn’t have an instant rebuttal. I had no proof what he said was incorrect, but it felt off for me.
Nonetheless, I didn’t register “different” as psychic, empathic, or as mediumship; I had no language for the sensations and experiences I had at the time.
Such an existence solidified my belief that children should not be invalidated based on their age. When I think about most people that I offer Intuitive guidance to, many of them surpass my biological age. We must remember, Spirit is providing the spiritual gift of wisdom, and the receiver can come in any form. Considering this should substantiate the release of our ego aspect when it comes to parenting. Though we so often get too much validation from the ways that our little ones mimic us naturally. As parents, we are not here to convert our children to our beliefs and practices of being. Nowadays, especially with New Age spirituality still trending, I believe it is important to position ourselves as parents, not as overseers, but as our children’s first guides. In guiding our children, we allow them to learn and choose for themselves, and us as parents to learn and actively grow from our children throughout our lifetime.
And, you may be asking yourself, “how do I parent this child, then?”
When I consider what parenting an empath should look like, I think about preparation. We are never as ready to become parents as we would like to be. But, I believe there comes a moment of acceptance, especially as a mother. At that moment, we must not accept just our duty as a parent, but receive our soul's designation to guide our children based on who they are, not as how we want to mold them to be. Preparation is critical. I don't believe I had enough practice for what my word would look like based on my gifts or strengths, much less my curiosity and open-mindedness. I can still recall the many different situations in which my parents were very vocal about my lack of knowledge about this or that thing I wanted to try. It's sad how often I heard, "You don't know what you're doing," or "You don't know anything about that."
They were right. I was only prepared to experience many of the same things they had. Unfortunately, it left me in a position where I had no choice but to take risks to get closer to what I believed to be accurate. So you might say, I had many hard lessons.
Preparation becomes all the more critical when you consider spirituality because we are often so ingrained in the religion or spiritual practices that our respective families have experienced for generations. Remembering the times that I had an innocent question about another religion or spiritual belief that was seemingly against my southern roots, how quickly it became quite the point of contention. I believe this was further complicated by the deep knowing that my parents’ beliefs and religion were against what I knew to be true because of empathy, especially my mediumship.
Also, consistency is fundamental to parenting an empath. Empaths are those continually taking on other’s feelings and troubles. In turn, what a young empath needs is a grounded parent and one consistent in energy and disciplinary measures.
When a parent of an empath is out of balance, it will undoubtedly create an imbalance in the parent-child dynamic. The child, an empath, will be forced to guide the elder based on intuition but not experience, which does not allow for a rich and playful childhood experience.
Parents of empaths must be open to the calling their children feel to rescue. Whether it is a lost animal or another individual, there will be many fleeting friends and strangers as a young empath navigates its soul’s urge to heal and nurture.
Tread lightly with religion. I write this, and I think of the women that have come to me as spiritually gifted psychics and mediums with underdeveloped gifts and nowhere to go spiritually because of how religion was introduced in their youth. The funny thing about religion is that even though you decide something is not for you, it becomes difficult to start a new path without seeking approval or real confidence. The guilt of not connecting with beliefs that existed as the standard in your family can be traumatizing. Most abandon all connections to spirituality rather than outwardly go against their parent's beliefs. Parents of empaths might be mindful of holding onto the understanding that it is not vital for every soul to experience religion in order to connect with spirituality, a moral code, or to be embraced by the universal energy.
As parents, we must root ourselves in guidance that allows the souls that pass through us not only to grow but to become more than we are.
Parenting itself is a spiritual designation, no matter the circumstances of your child’s arrival into your world, your child’s existence is divine. You must rise in your calling to explore life through your young empath’s lens for your own soul growth.
And consider your empathic child’s presence a wake up call to your own spiritual journey.
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