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When children are resilient, they are more curious, more adaptable, and braver.
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Resilience is being able to bounce back from stress, challenge, tragedy, trauma or adversity.
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Resilience is something that we can nurture in all children.
CHILDREN & RESILIENCE:
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The pressures on children today are greater than on any previous generation.
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The rate of anxiety and depression among the younger generation has exploded.
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Resilience is the ability to bounce back from stress, adversity, failure, challenges, or even trauma.
Let’s consider how we can assist children to develop resilience.
In this post, we explore the importance of resilience and how to assist our youth to build resilience. Our focus is on youth group sessions.
IMPORTANCE OF RESILIENCE:
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Resilience is a life skill we take with us into adulthood.
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With resilience, obstacles can be overcome.
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It protects against experiences which could be overwhelming. Balance is maintained during difficult periods.
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With resilience, children are braver, more curious and adaptable.
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They are more able to extend their reach into the world.
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It reduces the chances of suffering from anxiety or other stress-related disorders.
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It protects from the development of some mental health difficulties.
Some children develop resilience on their own, while others require assistance.
It’s a skill that can be nurtured and children as they develop.
HOW TO HELP:
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Model healthy social behaviour. Provide opportunities to create social connections, enable creativity, plan activities, and use mental flexibility.
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Build supportive relationships. Anyone in the life of a child can make a difference – family, teachers, coaches, peers. Find a previous post about mentoring at http://www.ourfutureleaders.ca/blog/mentoring-the-young-generation-passion-self-confidence-community/
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Know it is okay to ask for help. Encourage constructive feedback.
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Give them opportunities to think and act independently. Encourage discussions and presentations.
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Build a sense of mastery and competence. Encourage them to discuss and present their ideas in group sessions.
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Reframe disappointments. Discuss the opportunities that challenges bring.
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Nurture optimism. The brain can be rewired to be more optimistic through the experiences to which it is exposed.
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Let them talk / encourage active listening. Resist solving their problems for them.
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Empower them. Allow them to make decisions.
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Face fear. Encourage them to help each other build self-confidence.
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Take safe considered risks. This opens up their capacity to shape the world.
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Accept that everyone is at their own level. Resilience is about getting back up again, and there’s no hurry for this to happen.
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Trust their capacity to cope. Your belief will be infectious and in turn, they will believe in themselves.
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Nurture a growth mindset. We can change and so can other people. You can find out more about a growth mindset at http://www.ourfutureleaders.ca/program-activities/believe-you-can-improve-and-you-will-suceed/
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Exercise. Try laughter yoga even for five minutes during a group meeting for its positive effects. You can find out more information at https://laughteryoga.org/guidelines-for-laughter-exercises-with-children/
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Make time for creativity and play. Give them the space and the time to play and get creative, and they’ll do the rest.
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Encourage a regular mindfulness practice. Information about mindfulness for children can be found at https://www.heysigmund.com/mindfulness-for-children-fun-effective-ways-to-strengthen-mind-body-spirit/
Resilience is being able to bounce back from stress, challenge, tragedy, trauma or adversity.
When children are resilient, they are braver, more curious, more adaptable, and more able to extend their reach into the world.
The great news is that resilience is something that can be nurtured in all children.
We can encourage and assist the younger generation to build resilience.
WHAT CAN WE DO?
It has been demonstrated that our youth learn the desired skills from youth group sessions.
What are your thoughts and comments? To forward them, please see the “How Can You Help?” section below.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
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