Resilience is a 21t Century concept that every parents needs to understand.
Some children are resilient by nature- their temperament helps them to be mentally and psychologically tough. You know those children. They get straight back up after a set back or disappointment. Rejection in the play ground doesn’t faze them. Unfortunately, not every child has such natural resilience.
You can promote a lasting sense of resilience in your kids by:
- Having a positive attitude yourself. Your attitude as a parent impacts their ability to bounch back from some of the difficulties they face. Make sure you model a ‘you can do it’ attitude for your child when they meet some of life’s curve balls.
- Look for teachable moments. Many kids learning oppertunities are disguised as problems. Make the most of these oppertunities so that kids can learn and grow from some of the challenges they face.
- Make kids active participants in the family. Active participation in a family develops self help, problem solving and independene skills of kids that are necessary for resilience.
- Build kids coping skills. There are plenty of strategies you can pass on to kids to help them cope when life doesn’t go their way, including acceptance, getting away for a while and normalizing the event.