Resilience can be defined as the ability to cope or bounce back from a difficult situation.
While as parents we want to protect our children from having negative experiences, it doesn’t always happen that way. Some situations are unavoidable – just like Covid-19.
What’s really important is how we support our children to deal with such experiences. All children need love, guidance and to have rules and boundaries set out for them. This teaches children how to behave towards each other in a family and what is OK and not OK.
Tips for instilling resilience in your children at this time:
Teach your child to be happy – build their self-esteem and confidence
- Encourage your child to do things for themselves. At times you might think it’s easier to do something by yourself, but by letting them have a degree of independence you can help to develop their self esteem
- Identify things that your child is good at, their talents. Encourage and support them with these.
See the best in your child, praise and encourage them
- Notice when your child is trying to change a negative behaviour and praise them. Don’t focus on the overall outcome you want to achieve but instead focus on your child’s positive steps forward. A child doesn’t need to have a task completed before you praise them.
- As human beings we have a tendency to remember what has negatively impacted on us. So for every one negative comment you may have to say to your child, try to find two or three positives to praise them within that day. This increases their self-esteem and increases the potential for positive behaviour.
Encourage helpfulness
- Giving everyone in the house a job or role encourages inclusivity and, importantly, promotes positive feelings.
Help your child understand their emotions
- Encourage your child to talk about how they’re feeling. By doing this regularly it becomes easier for a child to open up and talk about how they feel. Talking really does make us stronger.
- When your child goes through a difficult time, encourage them to talk about what has happened and help them to learn from their experiences
