Why Resilience?
It is every parent’s dream that our children will go through life happy and healthy, free of pain, worry, and hurt. We would love for our children to not ever have to contend with bullies, peer pressure, divorce, failures, strangers, injuries, disease or death, poverty, crime, or war. However, we live in a less-than-perfect world and life is going to throw us curve balls, involve ups and downs, challenges and stresses.
It’s understandable as parents we want to protect our children from these challenges – wrap them in cotton wool, and immunise children from disappointment and stress. But if we did that, how would they ever experience the satisfaction of facing a challenge? Revel in success of facing a struggle, failure or rejection? Appreciate good fortune if they have never known the opposite? Develop empathy for others if they have never known what it feels like to struggle themselves?
Of course no parent wishes for adversity to happen to their children, however, it is inevitable and realistic to expect problems from time to time. As parents, we can aim to raise children who are resilient – children who can handle life’s curve balls when they are thrown at them; children who can cope with life’s challenges and “bounce back” and find happiness, even when things don’t go their way.
As Dr Ginsburg puts it:
“Resilience is the capacity to rise above difficult circumstances, the trait that allows us to exist in this less-than-perfect world whilst moving forward with optimism and confidence even in the midst of adversity”.
Our coping skills group programs are aimed to develop your child’s resilience – whether your child is currently struggling to cope with life’s stresses or you are just wanting to equip your child the best you can for when stress appears – these groups will provide the tools (or wings) for your child to start standing strong in the face of adversity, to spread their wings and fly above and beyond life’s stressors.
Our Groups Target the 7 C’s to Resilience:
- Confidence – we enhance self-esteem through recognising individual strengths
- Coping – we teach mindfulness-based stress-reduction skills to children and their parents
- Competence – we provide opportunity to practice social skills and stress-reduction skills
- Connection – we foster a sense of belonging and explore connection in the community
- Contribution – we help your child believe that they matter in this world
- Character – we strengthen character through teaching empathy and caring for others
- Control – we provide a sense that we have choices, even in difficult situations