Orchids and Dandelions The Science of Sensitive Kids

Dr Thomas Boyce, professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, who has treated children for decades, began to notice two categories of response to stressors: Children who were unfazed by their surroundings and children who were extremely sensitive to their surroundings.

Over the years, he began to relate these two types of children to two very different flowers: dandelions and orchids.

Through study and observation, he learned that most children are resilient, like dandelions, and able to cope with the stress and adversity in their lives

The minority of children, who he called "orchid children", are more sensitive and biologically reactive to their circumstances, which makes it harder for them to deal with stressful situations

Given supportive, nurturing conditions, however, orchid children can thrive Especially, Boyce says, if they have the comfort of a regular routine

Sibling Differences

Siblings within a family although they are being raised by the same parents or caregivers in the same house, in the same neighborhood, and often in the same school may have quite different experiences and reactions that depend upon the birth order of the child, the gender of the child, to some extent differences in genetic sequence.

'Orchids and Dandelions' is a way of talking about dramatic differences that kids from different birth orders and different genders have within a given family.

Dr. W. Thomas Boyce is a renowned pediatrician and Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of California, San Francisco He has conducted extensive research on how individual differences in children's biological susceptibility to social contexts, such as the family, classroom, and community, can impact their health and development His work has shown that some children, known as "orchid children," are exceptionally sensitive to their social environments and face increased risks of illness and developmental disorders in stressful or adverse situations

- Dr. Thomas Boyce