What’s your philosophy of life? Do you see the glass as half-empty or half-full?
How you look at situations has a huge impact on the effect those situations have on you. Whereas the death of a loved one can send one person spiraling into an abyss of depression and pain, the same event can encourage another person to become stronger.
In most cases, it has to do with your perspective of the event rather than how much you loved the deceased.
Wondering how to help your child be more like the latter person? Read on to learn a few tips for encouraging resilience in children.
What Is Resilience?
Resilience has to do with your outlook on life. When you get knocked down, do you tend to come back up swinging? Or do you tend to stay there, wallowing in your failure?
People don’t always have the same reaction to the same situation. Even the same person won’t always react the same.
Our ability to deal positively with negative or disappointing events is called resilience and you can develop more of it throughout your lifetime. In fact, the “school of hard knocks” is often one of the best teachers and can be doling out lessons for your whole life.
Where Does Resilience Come From?
Everyone has their own level of innate resilience. Resilient babies bounce back up ready to try again after taking their first step and falling. Less resilient babies might cry for a bit and maybe wait for a different day before trying again.
However, resilience can also be learned. Children can develop it through learning problem-solving skills, watching resilient adults handle stressful situations, and learning to ask for help when needed.
Tips for Encourage Resilience in Children
Building resilience in children is important to help them become happy, healthy adults. More resilient people tend to see the glass half-full and live a happier life. Resilience is also key in maintaining proper mental health and properly managing the stress we all experience at one point or another.
There are a number of things you can do to help children develop this resilience. Encourage them to keep trying when something doesn’t go quite right. Help them look for the positives in a situation and learn from their mistakes.
Encourage them to move toward their goals one step at a time. Help them to accept that negative things can happen and that things will change, but understand that these aren’t always bad things.
Teach them to look for ways to feel calm even in the midst of a storm. And always encourage them to reach out to a trusted adult when they need help.
Healthy, Happy Adults
Healthy, happy kids turn into healthy, happy adults. Resilience is a key attribute in making this happen.
While resilience is more easily learned in childhood, anyone at any age can learn to be more resilient. Follow these tips for you and your child to foster greater resilience, and therefore happiness, in both of you.
