How to Be Resilient - HOW TO TEACH RESILIENCE

When your child fails.

BIBLE PRINCIPLE:  "The righteous one may fall seven times, and he will get up again." - PROVERBS 24:16. 

Help your child put things in perspective.  For example, what would he do if he failed a test at school?  He might give up saying, "I can't do anything right!" 

To teach resilience, help your child work out a strategy that will help him to improve.  In this way, he will take charge or the problem rather than become a victim of it.

At the same time, avoid fixing the problem  for your child. Instead, help him create his own plan.  You might ask him, "What can you do to improve your understanding of the subject that is being taught?"

When adversity strikes.

BIBLE PRINCIPLE: "You do not know what your life will be like tomorrow." -JAMES 4:14. 

Life is unpredictable.  A person who is rich today might be poor tomorrow, a person who is healthy today might be sick tomorrow.  "The swift do not always win the battle," says the Bible, because time and unexpected events overtake them all." -ECCLESIASTES 9:"11.

 As a parent, you rightly take reasonable steps to protect your child from danger.  Realistically, though, it is not possible to shield your child from all life's adversities. 

Of course, your child may not be old enough to experience the loss of a job or a friendship or the death of a family member.

Next time: How to Be Resilient - Conclusion of HOW TO TEACH RESILIENCE

From the jw.org publications