Everyone is met with challenging situations in their lives, including children. However, not everyone responds to stressors in the same way. What is it that allows some people to cope with difficult situations while others really struggle?
Those who are able to bounce back from a difficult situation, allowing themselves to grow and learn from the experience, have a high level of resilience.Others who have developed less resilience may avoid a problem altogether or may be unable to mentally or emotionally bounce back from problems.
A high level of resilience helps you to be more driven in school and more motivated to complete difficult projects. You’re more likely to show a high level of empathy for others, and you also feel a strong sense of hope for your future and believe in your ability to overcome challenges.
So how can you nurture this important asset of resilience in your kids? Research shows that family atmosphere really matters. Specifically, resilience is strengthened when children are raised with encouragement and warm, positive, supportive parenting approaches.
On the other hand, a negative family environment is shown to decrease a child’s sense of hope, diminish their self esteem and independence, and may lead kids to more behavior problems as well as a decreased sense of self-worth.
There are some practical strategies that you can use to increase resilience in your child, and it all starts at home. Consider the following steps to nurture this important skill:
Finally, rest assured that in challenge situations, you’ve got support here at Peace At Home. If you’re having a hard time with any of these suggestions or would like more ideas about how to strengthen resilience, please visit our Connection = Cooperation and Parenting Principles for Progress not Perfection Libraries, and check out our calendar for upcoming Live, Interactive Workshops on this topic and many more. As always, email us at solutions@peaceathomeparenting.com any time.