How to Build Resilience in Children to Help Them Bounce Back

Certain qualities can help children both survive and thrive. Resilience is one of the most important.  

How to Build Resilience in Children to Help Them Bounce Back
[image: pexels by yan krukov]

Finding Role Models 

One way for children to learn about building resilience is by finding others who demonstrate this quality.

For example, movies about resilience can teach kids how to confront difficult situations and move past them. 

Adults can do the same by modeling this kind of behavior. Talk to your kids about situations where you have shown this quality in your own life. 

Being Kind 

Kindness is another important quality. It is linked with the process of being resilient. Kids should be allowed situations where they can be kind. 

For example, bring children to do volunteer work. Having children interact with others who are less fortunate can show them how others have obstacles they have learned to overcome. 

Have kids carry in groceries for an elderly person. Kindness can help them take bad moods and learn to feel better about what is going on in their lives. 

That is a great way to become more resilient. 

Making Friends 

Friendships are a great way for kids to interact with others. Kids can learn things more readily from their peers than they might learn from adults. 

Children who have lots of friends can learn about how other kids respond to any challenges in their lives. A kid may have a friend with type I diabetes. 

Learning how that child copes with issues like needle sticks and monitoring blood sugar can help that child see how resilience develops over time. 

Peer-to-peer interaction allows children to ask questions they might not be comfortable asking adults. 

Positive Thinking 

Positive thinking helps children overcome all kinds of issues. You want to help your kids develop this quality in their own life. Look for ways to turn problems into advantages. For example, your child might have a sprained ankle. 

This can mean they can't participate in an important game. Use this time to point out the potential advantages of this issue. They might be able to stay home, catch up on some needed sleep and even spend time watching their favorite television show. 

This is also a chance to have their favorite foods. That will help kids think about the good side of any situation they might face. 

Physical Activity 

Working off feelings of despair can help any child learn to become more resilient. Routine physical activity can help with this process. 

Encourage your child to find an activity they personally enjoy. This can be as simple as walking fast. It can also be playing a sport with their siblings like tennis or badminton. 

Sports allow children to work out any feelings of temporary frustrations and gain better control of their emotions. 

Kids who are physically fit may also feel more self-confident and capable of responding to a crisis effectively. 

Give your kids the tools they need to truly help them become resilient in life right now.