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Highly sensitive 9-year old girl

My 9-year old daughter is so sensitive that she cries about almost everything.

> When she asks me if she can have something (or do something) and I say, “No”, she starts to cry, believing that I am unfair.
> When try to I correct her or mildly criticize what she’s doing, she starts to cry because I’ve hurt her feelings.
> When I talk to her in a stern tone of voice, she cries because I’ve scared her.

So, basically, when I’m anything other than "sunshine & roses", she starts to cry. And, now, I’m scared to talk to her for fear she might start crying again. Maybe I’m doing something wrong, but her constant crying has me confused. I feel handcuffed. And I feel resentful of her for making me feel guilty for causing her to cry. Maybe she’s crying in an effort to manipulate me, or maybe she’s just ultra-sensitive or maybe I really am too harsh with her. In any event, I don’t how to handle this situation.

Do you have any advice? I’m desperate!
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Avatar universal
There is an excellent book on the market for highly sensitive children titled "the highly sensitive child" written by Elaine N. Aron.  I might suggest you purchase this book on-line, your bookstore or borrow it from your public library.  You will also find a website by this author if you google the title of the book.  Hope this helps ...
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171768 tn?1324230099
has she always been this way or is it recent? has anything changed in the family or in her social circle? do you think she's approaching puberty?

i was a very sensitive child and always had been. but i distinctly recall some melt-downs at that age.  looking back it was probably partly because i hit puberty very early. i was insecure with my body and the hormones probably didn't help much either. it can be confusing and overwhelming. may not be the case, but just a thought!

by the way, i definitely outgrew it!
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