My mom, of blessed memory, used to say when things were truly awful, “If you’re breathing, you’ve got choices. You may not like any of them, but you’ve got ‘em. Pick something and try it.”
The ability to look at a bad situation and figure out what choices we do still have is crucial. That’s resilience. Resilience matters, because:
Our kids are gonna go through worse than this in their lives.
I hate it too, but it’s the truth. We can’t protect them FROM the hard stuff, so we have to strengthen them FOR the hard stuff.
So how do we do this?
One day, I put rollerblades on my then nine-year-old kid who was eager to learn how to do jumps and other tricks he saw the older kids doing at the skatepar
As any parent would be, I was worried about broken bones and sprained wrists. But I knew I knew preventing him from trying new things on his rollerblades wasn’t going to teach the life lesson I wanted him to learn.
So I put a helmet and all the pads on him and he rolled out the front door.
The next thing he said put a smile on my face and helped ease my worry.
“I wonder where I will fall today?”
He wasn’t afraid about the possibility of falling; he was curious about it. He was expecting it. He knew it was part of the process, and so he chose to expect it knowing it was an indicator that he was on his way to doing the jumps and tricks he wanted to master.
When we teach our kids to face challenges with curiosity, they learn skills that will translate to many other challenges and trials in their lives.
This is called resilience.
Resilience helps them bounce back from stress, trauma, and adversity. When children are resilient, they can face life with courage and curiosity. They have a greater ability to adapt. They are more confident which leads them to try new things and strive for growth.
We can’t protect them from everything, but we can prepare them for anything.
The great news is that resilience is something that you can teach your child so they are prepared to face whatever the future brings and emerge stronger than ever.
My new seminar series that I mentioned to you a few days ago? That’s the reason it’s called Ready for Anything.
During this seminar series, I’m going to share with you eight skills that will give your child the resilience to face anything and come out the other side stronger and still being the person you want them to be, that they want to be.
You’ll find out how to teach them to:
- Build connections so that, when they don’t have the answers or can’t handle something, there are trustworthy, responsible people they can – and actually do – ask for help.
- Set boundaries in ways that keep them healthy, safe and able to reach their goals.
- Manage discomfort in positive ways, so that they don’t run away, ruin relationships or hurt themselves when things are hard.
- And five more essential resilience skills that will help your child thrive in life no matter what stressors and changes they encounter.
Enrollment is now open for Ready for Anything.
“As a TV host and Mom, I have interviewed many parenting experts. I appreciate straightforward information that I can apply the same day, and that’s what I get from Dr. G. She is the on-call expert who gives bite-sized advice with big results.”
Val Warner, co-host of ABC Windy City Live
One of the best times to teach them resilience is when they are going through or have recently been through a trying time.
Right now, we have a unique opportunity to turn the difficulties and stress of the past 18+ months into valuable lessons that will strengthen them and their mental health for the rest of their lives.
Join me for the Ready for Anything seminar series and I will show you how.
Click here to get all the details and enroll.
All my best,
Dr. G
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