Some children are resilient by nature- their temperament helps them to be mentally and psychologically tough. Others don’t have 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 on their ability to bounce back from some of the difficulties they face. Make sure you model a ‘you can do it’ attitude for your child when he/she meets some of lifes curveballs.
- Look for teachable moments. Many kids learning opportunities are disguised as problems. Make the most of these oppertunities so kids can grow and learn 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 independance 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.
Promoting resilience in kids is not a single event but a continuous process that requires adults to be supportive and empathetic when things don’t go their way. It also requires you as a parent to have an understanding of resilience, so you have faith in yourself and child’s ability to cope.