Overly Sensitive 6 Yr Old boy....help !

My almost 6 year old son is the same way. And as an ex-teacher, I know that the gifted children are typically the most sensitive. Gifted children have extremely and sometimes unreasonable expectations of themselves and others. They can't always help it and it's difficult for them to turn it off. Their bodies just don't catch up with their minds, and they aren't mature enough to have advanced coping skills.
I don't make a big deal about the crying. But I don't humor him either. I know how it felt because I was the same way as a child (and I was gifted also). I just try and be patient. Most of the time he knows that if he needs to cry it out, he should just go to his room. When he's feeling better, he can come out and join us. That has helped a lot. Now when he is feeling down, he runs in his room, takes a few minutes to relax, and is ok when he comes back out.
I hope this helps.

have you tried just talking to him and tell him that no one wants to be around someone that will burst into tears over small stuff, and that it might affect him making friends and getting picked on? when he starts crying over something small talk to him and explain that when he crys it doesnt make anyone upset but him and if its something small its not worth him changing his whole mood over. ex: when he was asked to wait 5 minutes a cried, you could have said "If you didnt start crying you would have sat in your room for five minutes waiting on your dad and been happy during those five minutes instead of getting yourself all upset over it", of if someone doesnt share with him "in the time that you were crying you could have found a cooler toy to play with, and you dont want to play with a kid that isnt being nice and sharing do you" when I was really little everything use to hurt my feelings and I would cry over small stuff, then my mom talked to me about how Im wasting my time crying when I could be doing something else and having fun and it helped a lot when i felt like i wanted to cry I would think of what I could do instead. I still cry easy now and im 20 years old, but not like when I was little.

I agree with Patty W that it is really sweet that he is so caring and sensitive. Though I'm sure it is hard to watch him feel sad and like you said, kids can be cruel. I was always a very sensitive kid (still cry easily) and I can see my daughter (and son to some extent) being the same way. When I was a kid, I would often cry at school. I didn't want to, just my emotions took over and tears would roll. Role playing is definitely a good idea. Present him with situations like "what should you say if someone cuts ahead of you in line in lunch" or "what can you do if someone doesn't share with you" or other situations that you know of that might stir up his emotions. Give him actual things that he can do to feel better. I definitely wouldn't scold him and do not call him a "baby" or any other label. He needs love and support and tools to help him deal with his emotions. As you noticed, his teacher last year was awesome and his crying stopped....so it can be done. Try to be supportive and imagine how hard it is for him...ask him maybe what he is feeling when he cries and try to work with him on solutions. good luck, you are lucky to have such a sweet son! Better than dealing with the opposite extreme and super aggressive personality!

On one hand it is nice to have a sensitive child on the other hand you struggle with all the issues you listed above. Both of my girls are like this and will cry at the drop of the hat even the 9 year old. What has been working with us at home is if they start crying for no legitimate reason they go to their room until they are composed and then can come back out.

This is made a huge difference with the 9 year old, the 2 year old we just started. It does take some time though. When we first started this she would be in her room forever it seemed, but after a couple months she usually is fine within a couple of minutes, sometimes I say go to your room and she stops right then. It does get better just stick with it. I don't say it mean I just tell her to go to her room so she can get it together. (Doesn't understand Composing yourself)

Now if I can only figure out a way to handle the crying when she strikes out during softball. That is frustrating me to no end.

Awww. That's so nice that he is so sweet and sensitive. It will make him and understanding husband, father, friend someday. In the mean time I am sure you want him to be able to handle life! I would look into role play therapy to help him cope.

He's fine, just let him cry. Give him a couple of pats on the back when he cries or a kiss, and then let it go. Don't worry about him being teased at school -- it's not good to overprotect him anyway. Sometimes teasing is the best way to eradicate an unwanted behavior...

My youngest was a crier -- I can remember him sobbing in my lap for half an hour in 4th grade when he wasn't in the school group that got to go on the zip line on a school field trip - I was a parent volunteer at the field trip. I just let him cry and deal with any social consequences that arose himself.

He's 18 now, and he rarely cries any more. Don't worry about it.

I agree with AL below. We do something similar. We don't frame it (going to your room when you are crying for a reason other than injury) as a punishment. We say - it looks like you are having a hard time and you should have some time by yourself to calm down. You need to go to your room to calm down, and when you feel better and can talk without crying, then you can come back down.

For what it's worth, 1) I've seen some crying in my son's K class (it was over losing a party game at a holiday party) and it was no big deal. The teacher had the little boy go to the bathroom in the classroom for a minute to calm down and 2) he will figure out really quickly that it doesn't get him the attention he wants from the teacher and I doubt he'll really do it there like he does at home. So I wouldn't worry about school too much, the teacher will know how to handle it.