“Success is not final. Failure is not fatal: it’s the courage to continue that counts.” Winston Churchill
As if a global pandemic was not enough to bring the world to its knees, we are now also seeing the rise of new global social movements and protests in the name of equality and peace. It seems amongst the chaos – that now more than ever the world needs the redemption and hope of a loving Christ. The media is full of negative events and our children are being exposed to it everywhere. I am sure you’d agree that having resilient children with solid foundations of faith, seems more important than ever.
But how do we build up resilience in our kids. Building resilience is much like creating any other good habit or strengthening a spiritual gift. You need to keep at it and constantly exercise that ‘muscle’ just for it to grow stronger. Building resilience will not only help your children cope with stress throughout their lives but also assist them, achieve goals and dreams later in life.
Here are four easy and practical ways in which you can
Change is part of life. Ensure your children know that things don’t always go according to plan. Sometimes the world has pandemics and sometimes your best friend will disappoint you – and that’s OK. Children are allowed to have emotions but we can teach them not to let their emotions dictate their behavior. Children need to understand that, success is not final, failure is not fatal: it’s the courage to continue that counts. – Winston Churchill
Cultivate a culture of hope. Having hope can change a person’s destiny. Teaching our children to remain hopeful, even if the outcome seems hopeless, and focusing on the positive outcome in the future is key to building resilience in our children. We can always put our trust in Jesus. Even though the world can seem crazy and confusing, one thing is certain God is good and God never changes. (Jeremiah 29:11) For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Coach them rather than rescue them. As parents, we only want the best for our children and sometimes that means taking a step back and encouraging them to figure it out for themselves. Connection and coaching are important here and we can help our children develop problem-solving skills on various levels. Learning to overcome situations as a child will equip children to overcome bigger challenges in life when they are older. (Romans 5:3-5) “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 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.“
Create ‘honest-time’ where children learn to connect with themselves, their emotions and God. Children of this generation need to have time away from technology and time alone with themselves and also time alone to connect with God. How about creating 10 minutes each day where everyone in the household has ‘honest-time’. You can get together afterwards to discuss your experiences and thoughts.
Our Faith Box sessions are a great way to connect with your children ages 5-12 years, now is the time to train them up in the way they should go and the time to build up faith at home. Got teens? Have you tried our Faith Talk Trigger Cards? A pack of conversation starter cards that covers 40 topics of faith. A great way to connect and enable deeper conversation with your teens at home.
Contact us for more ideas or inspiration.
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