How to Raise a Resilient Child*

Resilience is a skill that we hear about a lot. It’s imperative to work on with children as it helps them to be strong minded and develop the will power to get back on their feet after setbacks. It’s not as easy as that though, they will need to first believe in themselves and once they do and do well, they will build self-confidence to tackle whatever challenge comes their way. To give you an idea as to how you can help build your child’s resilience, we’ve included some advice that was shared with us by a private secondary school in London.

Facing Difficulty
One way that you can help your child to develop resilience is through letting them face challenges and hardship. It's not until they are in a situation themselves that they will practise resilience and deal with the emotions that come along with failure. As tempting as it may be to step in and offer help, it can be a real learning experience and give them a sense of independence.

Failure is Okay
What we’re not sometimes taught is that it’s okay to fail. Setting high expectations for your children can often do more harm than good. While yes, it can help motivate them, the prospect of failure can equally be terrifying and scare them off wanting to try again. Instead, it’s important to create “freedom to fail”, where they can see setbacks as an opportunity to learn and grow. You will find that they're more willing to put themselves forward.

Rebuilding Their Confidence
What can happen when things don’t go as planned is a knock to their confidence. They decide to give up as they’ve lost all hope. It’s not impossible to rebuild though. You can help your child to regain their confidence by offering encouragement and words of praise.