Promote resiliency in children

Resiliency is essential to success. Resiliency provides the ability to deal with life’s challenges and adapt to new or difficult circumstances in a positive, productive manner.

The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) has the following suggestions for adults to make children more resilient:

•Be loving and supportive. Feeling cared for and safe builds resiliency in children.

•Foster positive attitudes. Help children believe they can succeed if they try. Frame failure as a learning opportunity. Teach children to reevaluate and adjust strategies that may not be working.

•Nurture positive emotions. Demonstrate and give children the chance to practice positive emotions such as optimism, respect, forgiveness and empathy. Praise them for successes and avoid judgmental or harsh criticism for failure. •Reinforce emotional intelligence. Listen to and validate children’s feelings. Label emotions in words they can understand. Teach appropriate ways to express positive and negative emotions and how to problem solve and deal with upsetting experiences.

•Develop their competence. Feelings of competence come from success in school and other activities. Ensure regular attendance and homework completion. Help them develop a menu of homework and study strategies. Encourage them to develop talents in activities they enjoy. Teach them to set realistic goals and obtain necessary resources.

•Promote positive social connections. Children need a variety of friends, relatives and adults with whom they feel connected. Different people meet different needs, and having a social network helps children feel supported and learn to develop and maintain healthy relationships. •Provide consistent clear expectations. Set, explain and enforce rules and expect behaviors consistently and fairly.

•Encourage helping others. Social competence and resilience are fostered by helping others at home, in school and in the community.

•Teach peace-building skills. Learning how to be appropriately assertive without being aggressive and how to stand up to bullies and avoid violent games and entertainment fosters resilience.

•Ensure healthy habits. Good physical health prepares the body and mind to be more resilient. Help children get good nutrition, adequate sleep and exercise.

•Reduce stress. Controlling stress encourages resiliency. Practice positive stress control strategies such as meditation, controlled breathing, yoga, exercise, developing talents and other relaxation responses.

This article was provided by Ed Scholssman, representing the NASP.