Parenting is a great but complex and multifaceted process with plenty of room to have an influence on a child's emotional health. Emotional resilience is a life skill that enables children to handle the ups and
downs of life with confidence and strength. Teaching children to handle emotions positively equips them to do well in relationships, at school, and in the workplace. In this blog post, we will learn ways in which parents can effectively teach emotional resilience to children.
Understanding Emotional Resilience
Emotional resilience is the ability of a child to cope with stress, adapt to change, and bounce back from adversity. Resilient children are not immune to adversity, but they have the capability to confront it
well. Some of the must-have traits of emotionally resilient children are:
- Self-awareness: Knowing their own emotions and emotional hot buttons.
- Emotional regulation: Managing overwhelming emotions in a healthy way.
- Empathy: Understanding others' emotions and being able to connect.
- Problem-solving skills: Solving conflicts and problems.
- Strong social relationships: Seeking support from family, friends, and mentors.
The Role of Parents in Developing Emotional Resilience
Parents have a significant role to play in developing emotional intelligence and resilience in children. Here are practical tips to instill in a child the ability to express emotion in a good way:
1. Model Healthy Emotional Expression
Children learn from what they see, and parents are no exception. Showing children healthy ways to express and manage emotions is an example to be followed. If a parent can express frustration calmly or discuss
their feelings openly, children are likely to follow the same.
Express your feelings openly: "I am feeling frustrated right now because I had a bad day. I think I need a short break."
Demonstrate how to regulate emotions: If you're feeling overwhelmed, breathe and say how this is better.
2. Establish a Safe Emotional Space
Children need to feel safe in order to express their emotions without fear of punishment or criticism. Encourage honest communication and tell them that all feelings are acceptable.
Listen attentively when your child describes their feelings.
Don't dismiss or tell them to "get over it."
Say things like, "I can see that you're upset. Let's see what's bothering you."
3. Teach Emotional Vocabulary
Many kids have difficulty describing emotions because they don't have the vocabulary to describe their feelings. Teaching them more words for emotion helps them describe what they're experiencing more accurately.
Use words of feeling in conversation (e.g., happy, sad, frustrated, excited).
Read books that describe various feelings and discuss them as a pair.
Use an "emotion chart" to help younger kids identify what they are feeling.
4. Encourage Coping and Problem-Solving Skills
Rather than resolving problems for your child, walk them through resolving problems.
Ask open-ended questions: "What do you think you can do to solve this problem?"
Teach coping skills such as deep breathing, journaling, or drawing.
Encourage a "growth mindset" by praising effort and learning from mistakes.
5. Teach Empathy and Compassion
Empathy allows children to connect with others and deal with social situations with empathy.
Encourage them to walk a mile in another person's shoes: "How do you think your friend felt when that happened?"
Teach them to "read" body language and facial expressions.
Model and encourage kind and appreciative behaviors.
6. Validate Their Feelings
Validation is acknowledging your child's feelings without judgment. Even if their reaction seems exaggerated, their feelings are real to them.
Say things like, "I can see that you're really disappointed about this. That makes sense."
Don't say things such as, "Stop crying" or "It's not a big deal."
7. Teach Self-Regulation Skills
Teaching children to regulate their emotions avoids emotional outbursts and builds resilience.
Teach relaxation and mindfulness practices such as belly breathing or counting to ten.
Develop routines to provide a sense of stability.
Encourage exercise, as exercise stabilizes emotions.
8. Encourage Healthy Risk-Taking
Resilient children are okay with taking risks and trying new things, even with the possibility of failure. Allow them to make age-appropriate decisions. Normalize failures as part of learning and growth.
Praise effort over achievement: "I'm proud of you for trying something new!"
9. Build Strong Social Relationships
A solid support system makes children feel safe and secure. Encourage socialization and friendships. Spend quality time as a family. Additionally, teach them conflict resolution skills as it helps them deal with
situations and feelings that can cause anxiety and helps them have tools to handle such situations effectively.
10. Encourage Journaling or Creative Outlets
Writing or creative pursuits provide kids with an outlet to process and express their emotions in a healthy way. Recommend a gratitude journal. Encourage drawing, painting, or music as an emotional outlet.
Challenges Parents May Encounter
While building emotional resilience in children is rewarding, parents may face challenges such as:
- Resistance to emotional expression: Some children may not be open to expressing their emotions. This is something that can be embedded in their personality. Forcing them to express themselves can make them feel anxious. Instead, dialogue can be initiated to make them feel comfortable.
- Difficult emotions: Anger, sadness, or frustration may be challenging to manage. These are some emotions that are associated with feeling uneasy. The natural response to these emotions is to get rid of them as soon as possible or not deal with them at all. In such a situation, it becomes important to comfort them and make them feel that what they are feeling is normal and valid.
- Parental stress: Parents need to maintain their own emotional resilience to be able to provide guidance to their children. Parents become the first social from who the children learn their social cues and responses hence, you being their role model is pretty true.
To overcome these difficulties, patience, consistency, and self-care for parents are necessary. Moreover, seeking professional assistance when needed is beneficial.
Final Thoughts
Emotional resilience is a lifelong competence that shows kids how to cope with challenges with confidence and dignity. By presenting healthy emotional models, a secure emotional environment, coping skills
education, and understanding empathy, parents can assist children in being emotionally and socially successful.
Each child is unique, so you'll have to make these strategies work for each child's uniqueness. With love, patience, and guidance, parents can assist the growth of resilient children who develop into emotionally
sensitive and confident adults.
How Solh Wellness Can Help:
At Solh Wellness, we provide holistic, compassionate support to individuals who are experiencing emotional challenges or just find it difficult to deal with life. Through our tech-driven platform, we offer
anonymous counseling, support groups, and mental health resources to individuals experiencing distress, particularly those facing abusive family dynamics or relational struggles. We offer evidence-based interventions that help individuals navigate emotional crises while fostering resilience and hope. By creating awareness about mental health and making help-seeking behavior the norm, Solh Wellness seeks to break the cycle of isolation and provide the support needed to prevent further tragedy.
R.E.A.C.H. is the pinnacle of your mental health and BUILD;
- Resilience: Solh's personalized plans help users build emotional strength and coping strategies, fostering long-term resilience and emotional well-being.
- Evaluate: Streffie stress tracking helps users evaluate their stress at three levels—actual, perceived, and measured—empowering proactive management before a crisis emerges.
- Act: Crisis management tools are immediately accessible, and the user can reach out to mental health professionals using Talk Now.
- Connect: Support groups make users feel like they belong. They can relate to others going through similar problems, which makes them less isolated and helps them find healthier ways of coping.
- Heal: Anonymous counseling and educational resources guide users to recognize their emotions, work through difficult situations such as abusive relationships, and start healing in a safe environment.
Together, we can address the roots of suffering, providing much-needed mental rest and clarity. Reach out to Solh Wellness today for professional help if you, or someone you know, needs it.
