Careers for highly sensitive people (orchid child)

[Wearegettingthere]

What sort of careers would you suggest for a highly sensitive person?DD likes acting but that is a competitive world. She doesn’t want to do office jobs. I thinking working for herself would suit her best. Something like therapist, acupuncturist, etc. She is very creative, perspective, imaginative but doesn’t cope well in stressful environments.

There's nothing here about what the dd thinks, and nothing about whether or not she is actually coping with the course she's on, or even if she is beginng to wonder if it isn't for her and she wants to find another career. She might be doing just fine for all we know.

All of this is about the mum's worries.

Pwahahaha what have we come to?

Never heard this before but I guess I was an orchid child back when nobody had orchids, not very PC but my mum clearly just chucked me in the dandelion patch and I got on with it 🤣
Been in creative industry since 15. Lots of creative friends.

The OP would have got different responses starting a thread saying "My dd has Autism and part of that is that she is highly sensitive" or other description.

What people are mocking is the OP calling her child an 'Orchid Child'.

I get that this is what has derailed the thread a bit BUT I also get that a decent percentage of Mumsnetters will know this concern and it could have been a useful discussion instead of a battering.

So...my DS, diagnosed ASC/autistic is someone I'd have labelled orchid (now that I know what it means)when he was 10 and with my lovely OH being main stay-at-home parent.

We exchanged and I am a tough love parent. My DH is by no means a dandelion but I've given him tools to find and ensure solutions where/when he can...and allow other things to happen where he can't or walk away...

I wish I was taught all of this my my parents as I still struggle, where he's so much more sure of himself and his decisions.

When I first joined MN, the buzzword to describe children was glass

This thread is peak Mumsnet, and not in a good way, The OP asked a sensible question, in good faith, about what careers she can guide her daughter towards, that might suit her personality, and she was piled on from the very first reply, and burned to a crisp because of the term “orchid child”.

There’s a reason health visitors and some other professionals tell people to stay away from Mumsnet.

Do they indeed?

Yep. One place I have heard this is on Mumsnet itself, when discussing its own confrontational reputation.

I feel very strongly about this because as a teenager and young adult, I used to be extremely sensitive to criticism, and was reluctant to ask for help, because I was afraid of being sneered at, so I shied away from any kind of confrontation. I'm much less like that now, but I haven't forgotten what it was like being afraid to ask for things in case I was laughed at.

You needn't worry.
OP has another thread in " Work" where she has sensibly decided to avoid floral comparisons.

I’ve decided to identify as a cactus.

That’s a bit mean, it’s best help guide your children with subjects / qualifications that would suit them … no point in someone training to on things they’d never be able to do as a job/career … it takes someone with some experience to help guide

Funny that so few of us have ever heard of this unnecessary term then - I certainly haven't, and I happen to have autism myself.

And there is no need for you to tell other posters to f... off. Nobody is insulting those who have autism. Everybody is pointing out the absurdity of using the term orchid to describe people with autism.

Besides, in case you didn't know, the word orchid means testicles.

All work is stressful. Difficult colleagues, deadlines, too much work and so on. Your options are to encourage your child to become more resilient or expect her to join the growing number of working age adults whose mental health is too fragile to allow them to work. I know which one I would choose.

I write this as someone diagnosed with autism who also doesn’t like stress but I managed to hold down a job which gave me much personal satisfaction. The key is to find a job in an area you can excel because of your own interests and abilities. I worked in financial services because I am good at maths and that carried me through as long as I was careful about the roles I took and made sure these were a good match for my skills.

Mine didn't:( - is that a real thing for HV?

I am the worlds worst Gardener yet I find orchids are hardy and quite tough.

right environment and the things won’t stop growing.

They’re certainly not delicate.

‘Orchid child? I’ve heard it all now 🙄

I heard it on mumsnet, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all if it is a thing.

Tbh it isn't. It's not a HV's job to talk mothers off MN. But it's a fun thought.

I think im a Venus fly trap 🤔

I suddenly have a desire to use weed killer.

What a load of nonsense orchids and dandelions. FFS.

Or a strimmer.

Even if it's No Mow May.

Orchids and Dandelions like that sort of thing, it stimulates them to recover and grow stronger. Bees are less enthusiastic about it, though.