10 top tips to help your child build resilience
Connect
In the context of a supportive relationship with an adult, children learn how to soothe and calm BIG emotions, reset and carry on. Resilient children can talk about their mistakes and use your encouragement to start over. Enjoying warm and nurturing relationships is also key to our sense of fulfilment and happiness. laughing and being with people important to us is essential to our well being. Connecting with others stops children feeling lonely and isolated
Maintain a daily routine
Children like the consistency and predictability of having a structure to each day. It helps them feel secure and trust in the world around them. Knowing what is going to happen each day is comforting and reassuring. However adapting your routine to accommodate inevitable changes is also important and teaches children that change is also part of living.
Move
Get energy flowing around the body to refresh your child’s sense of vitality and zest for life. Exercise releases important neurochemicals that reorganises the brain and resets the neurological system making mind and body more resilient to stress.
Nurture self compassion
Encourage your child to be kind to themselves, caring for their minds and looking after their bodies
Encourage a positive and hopeful outlook on life
Help your child to remember ways in which he/she has coped with and conquered past challenges. This will help him/her to trust in their own strength to competently handle current problems. Help your child learn to trust her/himself to solve problems and make the right choices/decisions for themselves.
Take time out
Help your child discover what they need to comfort themselves and feel calm
Teach your child self care
Show your child how to make time to eat healthily, to rest, to exercise. Make sure your child has time to play and have fun. Seeking new and novel experiences energises our vitality and refreshes our zest for life. Help your child to discover what makes them laugh. Children need down time to relax and find their calm. It is important that they have enough time every day to do this so make sure your child is not over committed to after school activities. Be aware of what your child is exposed too (online, in the media, at school, overhearing adult conversations) and the potential for this to worry or feel stressful for your child. Many children these days are really scared about the world issues they hear about in the news.
Make time to discover new things
Learning new things encourages children to think of different ways of doing things (the ability to creatively solve problems is an important resilience skill).
Build confidence + self belief
Taking on a new challenge (big or small) encourages your child to ‘have a go’ take small risks and gain a sense of competence and mastery. ‘ I can do this...and if I don’t succeed I can think through what I will do next’
Look for opportunities just to be in the moment
Enjoy looking at patterns in nature, cloud watch or take in a beautiful sunset, see what your eyes can discover when you just look around you. Enjoy sharing moments of laughter and joy with another person