How many of us can say that life has been easy? You’ve never cried, you’ve never struggled, you’ve never felt disappointed.
No one?
Yep. Life can be smooth sailing for a while, but there are always rough patches. Some of us face rougher patches than others and we all react differently. Oftentimes our attitude about the situation has far more impact than the situation itself.
This is why building resilience in children is so crucial. It is the best gift you can give them to help them face their own rough patches. Check it out.
Defining Resilience
What does resilience mean? Why is this attribute so important?
Resilience is the ability to bounce back after a harsh blow. It is the decision to stay positive during adversity, the quiet inner strength that propels us to try and try again.
With that, you can see why it is important for children to learn or develop this trait. Life will always throw something tough at them, resilience keeps them from breaking under the onslaught.
How Do Children Gain Resilience?
Some of our resilience comes naturally. You may have noticed that when babies struggle to perform tasks, some will give up more easily than others. The ones who keep at it until they succeed are said to be more resilient. They don’t let their failures hold them back.
On the flip side, resilience can also be learned. As children grow, teaching them to be more independent and responsible for themselves helps them to develop more resilience. They can also learn a lot from observing how resilient adults behave and react to different circumstances.
Helping Your Child Build Resilience
Obviously, every parent wants the best for their child. Resilience is a key attribute to help them develop. You can’t keep bad things from happening, but you can teach your child how to deal with them when they do.
Having a strong, loving relationship with at least one adult is the most common factor among resilient children. Thus, the mere fact that you are there for your child is helping them to build resilience.
You can also work on your own resilience by focusing on the positives in tough circumstances, building and relying upon a social support network, and always looking for the lesson. As your child observes these behaviours, they are learning to adopt them.
Maintaining good physical health is another big help. Mental health in children, as in adults, is linked with physical health. Getting plenty of exercise helps reduce stress and allows your body to function the way it should.
Get out and play with your kids. The physical exercise will do you both good and you’ll be strengthening the key bond between you.
Get Up and Go Forth
Life isn’t always easy and you can’t predict or prevent bad things from happening. But you can prepare yourself and your child to face those bad things and press on anyway.