“He was only three, but he loved white trucks, and on drives he would suddenly say ‘White truck, white truck. Then I’d look down the empty road and just as I was about to say ‘Sorry honey, no trucks,’ a white one would come around the corner. It never failed,” an amazed mother said.

Stories like these are becoming more common than in the past as parents of intuitive children become less likely to deny or hide their abilities.

In our society we would be shocked if we were considered guilty of a crime until we had proven our innocence, yet that is the bias that has haunted intuitives. If a student scores less than 100% on a test, he does not necessarily receive a failing grade; however, to much of society, any psychic falling short of 100% accuracy is considered a fraud. Moreover, a psychic or intuitive who cannot perform on demand, or shows any human weakness that negatively effects her results is used as proof that psychic experiences do not exist.

Since the Medieval era most parents of intuitive children have been trying to make the experiences stop, with the hope of protecting their children from the rest of society. Back then, if the parent was unsuccessful in doing this, death was the probable result, usually by burning, drowning or stoning. If an intuitive foretold a disaster and it happened, they were often killed for being seen as the bringer of the disaster, not as the one trying to prevent it. More recently, the biographies of intuitives frequently include accounts of childhoods that included electric shock treatments, drugs to silence the ‘voices’, exorcisms, and time in mental institutions, all approved by their parents in an effort to save their children from the effects of being different. Different equaled dangerous.

Things have obviously improved. Many fine scientists are changing the face of research in this area, such as Professor Fred Allen Wolf, seen in The Secret. Other notable include Russell Targ, physicist, and Doctors Gary Schwartz, Harold Puthoff, and Claude Swanson, as well as Barbara Brennan, a former NASA physicist.

Popular culture has caught on too, with numerous publications and some documentaries, including Down the Rabbit Hole, that have opened the mind of the public to the possibility of a new paradigm. Popular series like The Ghost Whisperer and Medium, while they certainly don’t reflect the experiences of most intuitives, they have a cumulative effect on public awareness. One result of this is that parents are less afraid.

Who are these intuitives? Nearly all intuitives say that everyone has the potential to be so to a greater or lesser degree. Take for example an Olympic athlete who performs physical acts that most people cannot. Many people had the potential to reach that high level of performance at one time, but choices, age, or health may have prevented them from doing so. The difference is often that the Olympic athlete had support, training and encouragement at a critical time in his life.

So it is with intuitives. If potentially intuitive or psychic children have been constantly told they are making things up, or are lying to get attention, or are bad, then they may tend to suppress or ignore their abilities as a defense mechanism; whereas, with support, encouragement and understanding, these skills may grow and develop.

For most people, acknowledging their intuitive abilities and allowing them to develop leads to intuitive experiences that fall into three general areas. The first builds trust, the second imparts information, and the third urges action.

In the first category, the intuitive receives information about the past, present or future that is easily confirmed. For example, she suddenly knows the phone is about to ring and it does, or she dreams about someone she hasn’t heard from in years, and two days later there is a letter from that person in her mailbox. These experiences require no action on the part of the intuitive. Their purpose is to help the intuitive build trust in himself and to help him learn how intuitive experiences feel, so that he may lean to ignore any doubt that may arise.

The second type of experience is comprised of answers revealing themselves in response to specific questions, for example, ‘Why do I always have a choking fear when I’m around fresh oil paints?’ or ‘Why am I having trouble with this co-worker?’ Long-time problems may suddenly have solutions.

The third category is advice or warnings that can be acted upon. Such as, ‘Get you car serviced’ or ‘Don’t go out tonight.’ An accumulation of experiences will assist the young intuitive in determining which kinds of visions prove to be more accurate than others.

So, what does a concerned parent do? Gentle, calm support is best; however, common sense is also necessary. For the majority of children, their invisible friends are not ghosts. Most children are quite creative and imaginative without being obviously intuitive. Yet even an intuitive child may misinterpret an intuitive experience.

Parents should not make a big deal out of either a confirmed or an unconfirmed or incorrect prognostication. As for acting on the intuitive information, parent should base their decisions on previous experiences, but ultimately the parent is responsible for the choice if a choice is necessary. Most tend to err on the side of caution. When in doubt, why take the risk?

Consider keeping a journal. Bear in mind that often a young child has no idea that she is seeing, hearing, or sensing what others may not. When the child is older she should begin recording her feelings and experiences in a journal of her own. Writing helps foster an analytical process that enables the young intuitive to determine what are valid intuitive experiences and what are the voices of her fears and desires.

Finally, parents should never harshly criticize or express excessive incredulity regarding their children’s intuitive experiences, either by applying cold logic or by intellectualizing. Obviously budding intuitives are already reluctant to trust their feelings. Being subject to harsh censure from their loved ones puts an unnecessary additional strain upon these special children.

Above all, remember to love and support the young intuitives in your charge and see that they fulfill as much of their potential as they choose.