Orchids And Dandelions
The lesson for leaders and parents is that one sure way to fail is to treat everyone the same.
Orchids and dandelions. However although the flower metaphor is plausible and very easy to understand there wasnt actually any research that confirmed the existence of these two distinct groups. Just as biobehavioral phenotypes like orchid and dandelion children are likely influenced by dna sequence variations in many genes it is probably also true that the effects of early experience. Rosie joyce is an early years educator offering support classes and courses around child development for parents and babies such as baby massage. The orchid and the dandelion is a book for parents bewildered by their impossibly spirited children for teachers interested in understanding the range of children in their care for psychologists.
The orchid and the dandelion subtitle why some children struggle and how all can thrive author w. Scientists have been studying these traits in children. Studies are finding that about 20 of children fall at each end of the resiliencysensitivity scale and most are somewhere in the middle nicknamed tulips. Orchid children are in the minority and are more sensitive to both good and bad environments.
By zoom i mean orchids zoom past dandelions on a host of performance measures. They have nicknamed the super resilient children dandelions and the super sensitive children orchids. Most children are dandelions hardy resilient and are able to prosper and thrive in most environments. Dandelion children are in the majority and are usually able to cope with stress and hardships.
While not everyone with adhd depression and dyslexia is a genius a disproportionate number may be extraordinary. The orchid dandelion metaphor further enforced the prevailing view that most people can be categorised into either being highly sensitive or not being sensitive. The remaining fifth are orchids who are more exquisite and unusual and have a higher potential than dandelions but for this to be realised they require a particular environment and careful.