Resilience. It’s a trait all parents want their kids to have, but few of us know how to teach—or, maybe better stated, few of us want our kids to go through the experiences that lead to resilience. In this episode of the iMOM Podcast, we talk about teaching resilience through natural consequences and life experience. It turns out, it’s not as hard as you think because there are a lot of circumstances our kids will encounter that require them to get back up after they’ve been knocked down.
So what is resilience? It’s the ability to respond well to difficulty, pain, and stress. And good news, teaching resilience is possible. It’s not like you’re born with it or you’re not. What do you think of when you hear that someone showed resilience? Maybe you think back to your grandparents or people you read about in history class. When it’s presented that way, it can be tough to imagine how a twenty-first century kid can embody those same traits. After all, life is a lot easier today. So in this episode, we ask questions like what works against kids when they’re learning to build resilience and what some everyday things are that build resilience in kids.
And, since teaching resilience requires us to step back and let them struggle, we talk about resisting the temptation to protect our kids from the things that we know are going to be hard. This episode will leave you feeling hopeful that you have the ability and plenty of opportunities to teach this vital characteristic to your kids.
Articles We Mentioned
3 Ways to Help a Child Through a Rough Patch
5 Things to Teach Your Kids About Failure
What Resilience Is and Why Our Kids Need It
5 Ways to Make Struggles No Big Deal
“It’s Not My Fault!” Getting Your Child Out of a Victim Mentality
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