Extrasensory perception, sometimes referred to as the “sixth sense,” is the gift to obtain and perceive information about situations, events, and other people using abilities beyond the five physical senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. There are multiple types of extrasensory experiences.
Telepathy is knowledge of another person’s activities, mental state, or thoughts.
Clairvoyance is knowledge about places, objects, or events that are currently occurring.
Precognition is the ability to predict random future events that manifest as knowledge, thoughts, waking images, or dreams, none of which could be inferred from regularly observable information.
Psychokinesis is the ability to manipulate a physical condition or object, such as bending a spoon using only mental ability.
Research is ongoing regarding how and when such phenomena occur, and what type of person is most likely to experience such incidents. Incidents involving children’s use of extra-sensory perception, commonly abbreviated as ESP, are often seen. Children are often more open-minded about ESP experiences and therefore they easily accept what our culture says is impossible.
Research cannot overwhelmingly prove that any age group has more psychic abilities than others. Numerous school studies testing clairvoyance and telepathy between students and teachers have yielded compelling results. Other studies prove significant telepathic connections between mothers and their infants.
It appears that developmental level or age is not a crucial factor in limiting or enhancing psychic experiences or abilities. Both adults and children who “believe” score higher than those who don’t, with nonbelievers showing results significantly below chance.
One recent study indicates more than three-quarters of psychic incidents reported were of the precognitive variety with either intuitions or dreams of future events that turned out to be accurate. Telepathy and clairvoyance incidents were reported less frequently. Similar studies involving incidents reported by adults yield similar results.
One striking difference between children’s and adults’ responses is that among children, the person in their dream or intuition was usually an acquaintance or friend, not a member of the immediate family. Adults commonly reported that their subject was a member of their immediate family.
School-age children’s psychic experiences were generally centered around what adults would consider trivial matters, such as school and grades, fashion trends, relationships, and dating, while adults’ experiences focused on matters such as death, serious injury, or health issues. Interestingly, about 10 percent of the psychic experiences for both children and adults involved family pets.
Psychic experiences generally involve every day, ordinary events. For example, one father was silently reading an advertisement for dinner plates. His daughter, sitting in a nearby chair, suddenly exclaimed, “new plates, new plates!” In another case, one mother had an intense headache but was too involved in preparing dinner to pause and take a painkiller. Suddenly, her six-year-old daughter gave her an aspirin and a glass of water, without being asked to. Incidents like these are typical of what many families often experience in the psychic realm.
Psychic communication among family members can confuse and even upset children. To them, “knowing” things they “shouldn’t” know can be frightening. To parents, psychic abilities can be frightening, intimidating, and may even go against the family’s religion. It can strain relationships between parents who accept and believe the phenomena, and other family members who resent it and don’t believe in the experiences. Such conflict can confuse children regarding their abilities, which can cause inner turmoil and the desire to cease communication about their thoughts and feelings.
There are many ways for parents, teachers, and friends to help psychically gifted children to positively perceive themselves and their abilities, to explore who they are, and help them discover what they could become.
Don’t judge. Truly listen to your child. Let your child communicate freely about their experiences. Creating an accepting, caring, and understanding atmosphere void of ridicule and this will help your child be open about speaking of their experiences. Try not to communicate embarrassment, worry, fear, or disbelief to your child. This could lead to withdrawal or avoidance of communicating you about what they’re experiencing.
Normalize their experience. Let your child know that other children and adults have similar gifts and abilities. Be factual regarding the child’s experience; don’t be intimidating or condescending regarding the event. Help your child understand that there are places to get their questions about their abilities and experiences answered, and you will help them if they want you to.
Don’t expect the child to “perform.” Manifestations of children’s psychic experiences are often spontaneous, and children most likely are unable to control them. Pushing them to display psychic abilities “on demand” may diminish the very gifts the parents wish to observe. Don’t exploit their psychic abilities for your own personal gain. Your child has the abilities to use, to nurture, and to share. The gifts should not be used to exploit the child.
Put psychic abilities in perspective. Self-consciousness and anxiety can decrease the spontaneity of psychic abilities and events. Help the child understand that they have psychic talents, but there are other talents to develop and other subjects to learn about.
Keep communication open. If a child communicates to you about a psychic experience, show acceptance of what’s happened, no matter how you feel about it. If you receive the child’s statements negatively, the child may hesitate to approach you again about future experiences.
Keep a journal of psychic experiences in the family. Encourage the child to write about events and dreams as soon as possible, to keep details fresh and to retain the most information possible. Patterns may be discerned over time, which may help distinguish regular dreams from those with precognitive components.
Conclusion
It’s difficult to know how you should respond if your child or teen if they show psychic abilities. Psychically gifted children are perceptive and bright, and able to communicate “otherworldly” insights. They are not weird or odd. They have a special gift, but they play, look, and act like all other children. The one difference is that psychic abilities are often so evident that they can’t be hidden. Children can’t deny them, develop defenses, or block themselves from using them.
Children frequently misunderstand psychic gifts. Psychically gifted children may also be unusually sensitive and react more strongly to casual sights or emotional experiences. Because children can’t build strong defenses, others peoples actions often lead them to feel vulnerable, confused, or hurt. They may therefore withdraw into themselves to achieve balance or feel overwhelmed or at odds with the conflicting energy of others.
Interesting article, but it seems to oversimplify the complexity of psychic phenomena. There is a vast array of cultural, psychological, and even neurological factors that could be explored. Also, the advice for parents is somewhat idealistic. Real-world application can be much trickier.
True, Big Nasty. The practicalities of raising a child with supposed psychic abilities involve much more than just being open and supportive. There’s a need for a nuanced approach that considers the child’s individual context.
The article presents a compelling overview of ESP phenomena, particularly in children. It’s interesting to note that the manifestation of psychic experiences doesn’t appear to be age-dependent. I also find the suggestion of keeping a journal quite practical for identifying patterns over time.
The diversity in types of extrasensory perception, such as telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, and psychokinesis, is fascinating. The article rightly emphasizes the importance of a supportive environment for children displaying these abilities, which can help them understand and manage their experiences better.
The research mentioned in the article offers some intriguing insights, particularly the higher frequency of precognitive incidents. The differences in the nature of psychic experiences between children and adults, and their focus on different aspects of life, provide food for thought.
Oh sure, kids just *happen* to know about future events and can read minds. Next thing, you’ll tell me my dog has psychic powers too! This article is hilariously absurd.
Exactly, Cookie Dough! I was just thinking my cat must be telepathic because she somehow knows when I’m opening a can of tuna. It’s a sixth sense for sure!
This article provides a well-rounded discussion on ESP and its occurrence across different age groups. The guidance on how parents and educators can support psychically gifted children is very valuable, as is the emphasis on creating a non-judgmental and understanding environment.
This article is utter nonsense. There is no scientific basis for any of these so-called abilities. The anecdotes provided are purely coincidental and lack empirical evidence.
I’m with you, Mr. Clean. It’s easy to be drawn into the mystique of ESP, but we must remember to prioritize evidence-based science over speculative narratives.
While I appreciate the effort put into this article, it’s worth mentioning that many cognitive scientists argue that what we interpret as ‘extrasensory’ phenomena can often be explained by the brain’s pattern recognition capabilities. It would be more enriching to delve into those scientific perspectives as well.
Great point, Buttercup. The human brain is remarkably adept at finding patterns, sometimes even when none exist. Exploring the cognitive science behind these experiences would provide a more balanced viewpoint.
Fascinating read! I’ve always been open to the notion of ESP and this article provides insightful details about the different forms it can take. It’s particularly interesting to see that children and adults experience these abilities differently, yet also have certain similarities.
Indeed, Rockette! The part about the daughter’s intuitive aspirin delivery was particularly compelling. It makes one wonder about the potential that lies within our own children.
While I remain skeptical about the existence of ESP, the article does provide a thorough examination of the topic. The distinction between how children and adults experience these phenomena is especially notable, as is the advice on how to handle such abilities in children.
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