Attention Parents: 7 Practical Ways to Raise Resilient Kids

“If you want your kids to succeed,  You have to let them fail. 

There’s a simple fact:- You’ve got to learn how to lose well.  In life, you lose more than you win.  Learning how to take a loss, get back up, and keep working, makes you resilient. 

Here are those 7 ways, by which you can foster resilience in your children:-

Don’t Glamorize Failure: 

Failure isn’t cute or inspirational.  It hurts.  Resilient people feel the pain of losing.  And that inspires them to keep fighting.  When your kids fail, Don’t jump right in to rescue them with a rosy retelling of the story.  Let it sting for a bit.

Redefine Success: 

Results-based parenting sets our kids up for failure.  Resilient people give their full effort to everything they do.  Even if it doesn’t produce the desired result.  Whether it’s school, sports, or helping at home. Equate success with effort, not outcomes.

Praise Risk Taking: 

Building resilience requires taking risks.  Many parents try to shield their kids from taking risks.  This is well-intentioned – you want to protect them – but a huge mistake.  Risk-taking is a muscle. Make sure your kids exercise it from an early age.

Let Them Solve Their Own Problems: 

When kids have a problem, parents have an innate drive to help.  Resist it.  Whether it’s a fight with a sibling or a night of hard homework. Give them time to work through it.  They can’t build confidence if you never let them struggle.

Apply Loving Pressure:

Your kids won’t volunteer to do hard things.  You must apply some loving pressure.  My wife pushed my youngest to run half marathon.  She hated the idea.  But I saw the pride in her eyes when she finished her first race.  Keep pressing.

Preach The Time Principles: 

The resilient understand 3 principles of time:  1. Things take time  2. Things work out over time  3. Time heals  Preach patience in the face of failure.  Remind your kids to – put their head down – Do the work – Let the clock tick in their favour

Encourage Self-Doubt:

Self-doubt is a feature, not a bug.  Resilience requires listening to self-doubt.  Because self-doubt signals that you’re being stretched.  When your kids are struggling with it, resist the urge to give a pep talk.  Instead, teach them to run toward it.