Resilience

This week I want to talk about resilience; resilience is the ability to cope with difficult situations, learn from experience and develop the strength to take on future challenges. For children and young people, resilience has many benefits, from problem solving skills and the ability to manage stress, to improved mental health and wellbeing.

Fall seven times, stand up eight. – Japanese Proverb

Within our life we all experience challenges and setbacks -this could be losing a football match or struggling with an assessment, to managing key events like moving schools or coping with the death of a loved one. Building resilience in children helps them to cope with these challenges and come out stronger on the other side.

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the COURAGE to CONTINUE that counts.

Having a few coping strategies can help children and young people to calm themselves down when things get too much. Explore different options with your children to see what works best for them. This could be deep breathing techniques, mindfulness activities, positive self-talk, blowing bubbles or a calming activity like colouring. I have worked with a child that found cutting paper helped him – finding something that works could make all the difference when the children (or ourselves) are feeling overwhelmed.