In this guide, from an independent school in Surrey, we look at the ways you can build resilience in your child to gear them up for the future.
Set Goals They Can Reach:
Don’t try to overwhelm your child with multiple different goals that they’re not going to be able to reach as school studies loom over their head. Goals need to be realistic and achievable for adults too, so show appreciation when goals are broken down and are within their reach. For example, if they’re struggling with maths at school, set a series of small goals where you work together on maths homework and revision at home to get them into practising regularly.
Show Your Kids That Failure Is Okay:
There’s no one on earth that hasn’t failed at least once, but when we’re children we’re unable to process it as adults can. To help them learn through you, show them when you fail and how you react, and especially what you do to remedy a situation.
For children, an example maybe they’re late for a friend’s birthday party. Help them with anything they ask for and while you’re on the way to taking your child to the party, come up with a reasonable excuse for being late. And you may find that you’re not the only one that’s late to the party, so long as you have something to fall back on.
Show That You Always Appreciate Their Effort:
When your child sits down and makes a masterpiece from their many arts and crafts, show them how much work they put into it and stick it on the fridge as a reminder. Show them that you care about what they make no matter what it looks like and if there are any mistakes on the page.
Children tend to remember how their parents spoke to them in their younger years, so make sure you continue to praise them for whatever effort they make. It gives them heaps of confidence to know that their parents believe in them.
Role Play Problem Solving:
If a problem happens on a day trip or when they’re playing with friends, ask them what they think they should do next. Granted they might not go with the best answer the first time around, but with continuous practice, you can feel they’re getting the hang of when situations can get out of hand and how they’d be able to handle it. Getting them used to difficult scenarios will prepare them for real-life problems in the future.
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