Students experience challenges in daily life, coping with studies, extra classes & activities, peer pressure, social media pressure, social life, conflict with or among family, and many more.
Children are still developing physically and mentally. It is easy for them to break in the slightest failure leading to anxiety, stress, or Depression.
They need to develop resilience from an early age as it will benefit them tremendously later as an adult.
It helps them to
1. Improve their concentration.
2. Reduce stress and anxiety.
3. Improve decision-making ability.
4. Enhance their performance in academic and extracurricular activities.
5. Tackle and overcome obstacles and be self-reliant.
6. Open to new opportunities and experiences.
7. Become self-confident.
7 BUILDING BLOCKS OF RESILIENCE AMONG CHILDREN
Kenneth Ginsburg M.D, in his book ‘A parent’s guide to Building Resilience in Children and Teens: Giving Your Child Roots and Wings’ (2011, American Academy of Paediatrics) describes 7 C’s of Resilience in children and Teens.
Competence:
Competence in students comes when they are allowed to do new things on their own.
When we withheld them from their true potential, it will hinder their development and make them feel less competent.
Encourage children to explore, innovate, provide them opportunities to get new skills, do not handhold them, let them fall, and stand up.
Confidence:
Confidence is building an ability to believe in oneself. Confidence and competence are correlated.
When you let your kids be themselves, allow them to try new things, demonstrate their skills in real life, they start to feel confident. This ability will be built naturally rather than forced or superficial that arises from false praises.
Connection:
Making kids know that they are heard, their feelings are acknowledged. It’s the best way to built a deeper connection.
It is also important that kids have a network or clubs or activities that they enjoy doing as a group, encourages them to connect with people, learn and grow.
Character:
Students at a young age must learn about right from wrong.
Develop their core values, believes, an attitude that builds their character as an Adult.
Instill good values, attitude, and belief teach, do not instruct them.
Contribution:
Contribution can be of any form, students must realize that their voice matters, their actions matter, their contribution even small, can lead to a huge change.
Teaching about the contribution from their time, money, energy for the others who need, creates discipline, commitment, makes them feel important.
Coping:
Life is not going to bed of roses. When raising kids, avoid shielding them from failures, they will grow less resilient, which leads to stress, depression, anxiety, etc.
The coping mechanism helps to face life challenges, come out of hard situations without feeling anxious or dreadful.
Good exercise, Mediation, a healthy diet, going out with friends are a few coping mechanisms that students can adapt to come out of their negative situation and be more resilient.
Control:
Deciding for your children is not going to make them feel that they are in charge of their life. When they grow up, they will be more dependent on others because they are made to feel that their life is not in their control.
They must be raised independent, have internal control and the external environment that impacts their life.