Helping Your Child Become More Resilient | AD

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Resilience is a skill that helps children to adapt well to challenging situations. Children who are encouraged to have a resilient attitude will not only feel more confident, but they will also be better equipped to deal with life’s ups and downs. So how do you help your child to become more resilient? Here are some great tips from an independent school for girls in Surrey.

Always Look For The Positives

Children are always watching their parents, so it is essential for you to think about how you react to stressful situations. Try not to complain in front of your children. The more you complain, the more likely it is that your children will too. Always try to look for the positives, even when you are frustrated. For example, “I know it is disappointing that the shop was closed, but at least we discovered this new park”.

Encourage A Growth Mind-Set

Discuss what ‘resilience’ means with your child and help them to understand how they can practice a ‘growth mind-set’. A growth mind-set is really useful for children because it will support them through many challenges and setbacks. Children with a growth mind-set believe that their abilities will improve over time, which motivates them to keep trying. 

Give Your Child More Responsibility

To help your child cultivate a resilient attitude, you will need to give them more responsibility. Letting your child do more things on their own will not only help them to learn, but it will also make them feel more confident. You could allocate household jobs to your son or daughter, such as feeding a pet or doing the washing up. This will increase their feelings of competency and give you a helping hand around the house.

Allow Your Children To Learn From Mistakes

As a parent, it is tempting to protect our children from failure, however sometimes they need to be allowed to make mistakes. Letting your child make mistakes will help them to learn where they went wrong and it will also help to build resilience and confidence when doing the same task again.

Help Your Child To Manage Their Emotions

Sometimes the key to calming your child’s emotional outbursts is simply acknowledging their feelings. Let your child know that you understand how they feel. You can also help your child to recognise these feelings by labelling their emotions. For example, “I know you are disappointed that you can’t go to your friend’s house” or “I can see you are angry that your brother took your toy”. This will help your child to learn that all emotions, even the bad ones, are okay.

We have always tried to help the boys be resilient. Do you have any other tips?

Michelle