Resilience

Sometimes in our job, we come across the same issues in several schools.  This week, I feel that there is one message standing out for me which is relevant to both children and adults:

Resilience is important for a child’s mental health.  It is about being able to bounce back from failure, challenges, adversity, and stress and will be a crucial life skill for children as they grow and develop into young adults.  Resilience is a skill that children develop over time, and they learn this from the adults around them.

o Let children know it is fine to make mistakes – it is how we all learn.

o Let children know that no-one needs to be the best at a new task or activity from day one – practise and set yourself targets, but do not compare yourself to someone who is an expert.

o Try to problem solve and find a way through if something is not working.  Do not give up.

 I would ask staff and parents supporting children who are struggling (for whatever reason) to find a strategy that the child thinks will work for them and then keep going with it – do not give up after a few days.  Changing a child’s response, or teaching a new skill takes time and patience, and there will be many setbacks along the way, but keep going, be consistent and be resilient.  You will then be teaching your children resilience through your own actions.

Remember

Resilience is not what happens to you, but rather how you react to, respond to, and recover from those events.