Resilience is the ability to cope with adversity or to come back even stronger after a difficult or stressful experience.
If you’re not sure whether you are a resilient person, think about all you have gone through in your life and how you were able to overcome the toughest times. That is resilience.
Everyone has the capacity to build upon the resilience they already have. At Childline, we are dedicated to helping children with the difficult situations they are in and developing coping skills to deal with the problem.
You can do that for your child or young person as well.
The three resources of resilience are I Am, I Can and I Have:
I AM – this is who you are and what you already have in your toolbox to help you get through difficult parts of life.
So, for example, you can ask your child to list out five personality traits they have that make them feel good. Eg. ‘I am a good person, I am strong, I am confident’ etc.
I CAN describes what the child can do to feel more empowered in the situation. Eg. ‘I can ask for help, I can walk away, I can change my attitude’ etc.
I HAVE reminds them who or what they have in their life that can help them through this tough period. Eg. ‘I have a trusted adult that I can turn to, I have good friends who care about me, I have a support network, etc.
By teaching your child about these three principles, they will feel more confident in themselves and better equipped to deal with any hardship that may come their way in life.
To learn more about resilience, check out Dr. Kenneth Ginsburg’s 7 C’s of Resilience.