We all know that adulthood is filled with many serious responsibilities and challenges. But does that really mean that childhood time is all rosy and free of any hassles? No! Especially in modern times when life keeps on throwing newer challenges each day, even childhood hasn’t remained stress-free. Our kids make new friends and sometimes get hurt by them; they go on social media and the virtual world isn’t always nice and welcoming; they answer tests and at times the marks aren’t up to their expectations. Our kids face these and many more of such challenges each day that they need to navigate through as they grow up. And it is their resilience that makes them push through the difficulties instead of giving up.
Though resiliency isn’t a natural trait in the kids, it is something that they can learn, practice, and develop as they grow, and you, the parents, have a major role to play in this regard. At Delhi Public School Sushant Lok, one among the top CBSE schools in Gurgaon, we believe that developing resiliency in children is easier when the dynamic and valuable parent-child interactions are focused in this direction. So, on that note, we, at DPS Sushant Lok, would like to share some of the ways for you to master the art of raising resilient kids.
Make efforts and be intentional in your actions
When parents recognize resiliency as the trait that they want to develop in kids, they can intentionally base the day-to-day parenting decisions to build that quality in their children. As such, knowing that they want to raise resilient kids can help parents know when to step in when their kids are frustrated about completing a school assignment, or handling a particular chore, or learning a new skill.
Think of it in this way – When you teach someone how to drive, and you want them to drive on their own, do you start the lessons right on the highway or a busy road? No, you start in the wide-open grounds or maybe on an empty road to help them gradually go up to the highway. This is exactly how it works for kids. Your small and consistent efforts can go a long way in raising confident and resilient kids.
Let the kids identify and name the emotions they feel
We, at DPS Sushant Lok, being one of the top CBSE schools in Gurgaon, can say from our experience that when kids are able to identify and name their feelings, they fare better at connecting those feelings to particular strategies that can aid them in moving forward in the right way. For instance, whenever they feel frustrated over an upcoming school test, they would know that talking to their parents and teachers would help. If they feel angry, going for a walk might help.
We have seen that when kids get to recognize their emotions and the reasons behind them, there are far fewer instances of emotional outbursts, and even feelings of dejection and anxiety are kept at bay.
Be the model of supportive and positive relations
Kids pick up a lot about the world by closely watching you, so it is crucial to model the kind of behavior you want to see in them. And, this extends to the kind of relations that you have in life because it is the positive relations in our lives that act as a buffer when the roads get rough.
You can teach your kids about positive and supportive relations by showing them how you choose friends in life, act as good friends yourself, and handle conflicts. We can assure you that the kids will notice and pick up on these qualities you have.
Let kids know that you are always there to help
We mentioned earlier in this article that raising resilient kids means letting them handle certain things on their own and knowing when to step in. However, make sure the kids know that you are always there to help because otherwise, they would get the wrong notion that being resilient means not asking for help. A resilient individual is not someone who bounces back from all difficult situations on their own; rather, it is the person who knows when to ask for help.
We, at DPS Sushant Lok, understand that resiliency is not something that you can instill in your kids in one day or through one conversation. It is something that needs consistent efforts, and the results thereby start showing up with time. But we are sure that with the conscious efforts made by both you and us, our kids will certainly become the resilient and high-spirited individuals that we all want to see them as.