Though we all wish that we could always protect our children and shelter them from the world, the truth is that they will need to go out on their own at some point. Though all parents worry as their children gain independence, you will have little to worry about if you teach them resilience.
Resilience is crucial for your child’s ability to overcome adversity and work hard until they see success. Read on to learn more about resilience and what you can do to build it up in your children, in this post from Maria Miguel, author and researcher for the library of FREE advice and support at Better Health.
What is Resilience and What Does It Look Like?
Resilience is the ability to bounce back during or after challenging times. It is what helps us keep going after a failure or major setback. Without resilience, we give up as soon as things become tough, making it impossible to achieve our goals or keep moving forward.
Resilience is a crucial quality to learn at an early age. Adolescents face all sorts of challenges these days and need to navigate a world and challenges that their parents could never imagine. Therefore, the best thing you can do for your children is teach them to be resilient. Teenagers and children with high resilience will exhibit the following:
- Emotional awareness
- Control over impulses
- Optimism
- Empathy
- Open and flexible thinking
- Healthy confidence
- Asking for help when it is needed
If you’re interested in learning more about resilience or want to increase it yourself, then head over to BetterHelp for more information.
Tips For Teaching Your Children Resilience
Keep in mind that everyone has a different level of resilience. Some people can live through traumatic events with little psychological impact, while others have difficulty recovering from smaller challenges.
Luckily though, resilience can be taught, and it is best to teach it during adolescence. Read on to see what you can do to ensure your children grow up resilient.
Nurture Confidence
Belief in oneself is critical for success. If your children have low self-esteem, they will struggle more with life’s challenges.
Therefore, it is critical to nurture confidence and healthy self-esteem from an early age. Children's beliefs about themselves can set their mindset for the rest of their lives. People of all ages are far more resilient when they adopt healthy confidence.
To nurture confidence, make sure to authentically praise your children for their efforts, talents, and skills. Don’t give unearned praise but don’t belittle or ignore them when they achieve something. Find the right balance, and your children will surely grow up with healthy confidence.
Model Important Life Skills
Children and teenagers need to learn various life skills to navigate the world. This includes (but is not limited to) social skills, communication, finances, self-discipline, time management, and negotiation.
Teach your children these skills by modeling them yourself. For example, show them how you budget for groceries each week or tell them your thought process when planning all the to-do lists and activities for the next few days.
Furthermore, as you watch your children enter situations where they need these skills, make sure to help but don’t coddle. Talk with them about the problem, not at them. Don’t just tell them what to do; help them reach a solution themselves.
Maintain Social Connections
Navigating life is a lot easier when you have a support network to fall back on. Those who are alone struggle more with challenges and have fewer people to help them out. Therefore, you should make it clear from an early age that you are there to support your children no matter what.
Furthermore, allowing your children to develop a strong circle of friends is important. Help them with any issues they have with social skills or making friends and avoid keeping them away from their friends for very long. Even though there will always be responsibilities like homework and spending time with family, there should always be some time for play and friendship.
Teach Them How To Cope With Stress
A person’s level of resilience is discovered when put under stress. Some rise to the occasion and tackle their problems, while others struggle to cope. Therefore, encouraging coping methods for stress will help your children bounce back when times get tough.
Encourage A Positive Attitude
Pessimists are rarely resilient. They seek defeat before it even arrives and allow challenges to stop them in their tracks. Therefore, supporting an optimistic mindset is crucial for your children’s resilience.
Be mindful of how you view situations or talk around your home. Do you tend to be pessimistic when obstacles arise or do you model optimism? How you view the world and life’s challenges will inevitably pass on to your children, so make sure you are modeling healthy optimism.
Author Marie Miguel has been a writing and research expert for nearly a decade, covering a variety of health related topics. Currently, she is contributing to the expansion and growth of a free online mental health resource with BetterHelp.com. With an interest and dedication to addressing stigmas associated with mental health, she continues to specifically target subjects related to anxiety and depression.
The photos and some of the links in this post come from posts and reviews which I have done over the years, including Ben 10 toys (which were sent for review) and trips to Scotland to see the children's Grandparents.
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