Most parents hope their kids can stay calm during a struggle and bounce back after a failure. Stress management and emotional resiliency are piece of EQ. Being calm during frustrating moments or bouncing back after a disappointment doesn’t come naturally for most people. It is learned via experience. Therefore it is critical our kids have experience with hard times.
No parent wants their
child to struggle yet struggle is a good teacher. No mom or dad wants their
child to fail yet failure is the best teacher. Tackling the struggle in a
positive way actually occurs before the struggle is experienced. Train your
kids in positive self talk.
Self talk that sounds
like:
- I can't.
- I'm stupid.
- I won't.
- I never.
- I failed.
- I give up.
keeps a person stuck,
unable to move forward. Instead help your kids embrace a challenge. Train them
to say things like:
- I will try.
- I'm capable.
- I'm willing.
- I'm learning.
- I'll try a different way.
If we want resilient
kids, kids who can accept disappointment and then move forward we must resist
the urge to rescue or fix every struggle or prevent failure.
Difficulty, opposition, or failure present opportunities to grow. Hardship
produces perseverance and develops patience.
Although it goes against
our protective parental grain, allowing struggle is a loving thing to do.
Support rather than
rescue. Build your child's confidence by allowing him to experience and
own his successes and failures.
Dedication,
perseverance, and commitment make up the quality of resiliency. These
resilient characteristics are born out of struggle.
Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings,
because we know that suffering produces
perseverance;
perseverance, character; and character, hope.
And hope does not put us to shame,
because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit,
who has been given to us.
Romans 5:3-5
Next week we will talk about how to develop your child's "soft skills" .
The Emotional Quotient Series.
Lori Wildenberg is a licensed parent and family educator and co-founder of 1Corinthians13Parenting.com , Lori's newest parenting book is available on Amazon or at your favorite bookstore. Messy Journey: How Grace and Truth Offer the Prodigal a Way Home. Contact Lori for your next event or for parent consulting or parent training courses. Lori can also be found mentoring over at the MOMS Together community on Facebook.
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