What are effective ways to teach resilience to children?

Children find their idol in the adults by observing. So, the one thing which we make sure in all cost is to model resilient behaviors yourself. You should be tough enough when facing any problems, dealing with difficulties.

I believe that every child learns resilience when they learn to walk. They learn to fall or fail & get back up. The same goes for learning to ride a bike, you fall or fail & get back on the bike. This muscle & neural pathway needs to be regularly tested & used. Otherwise when tests & sports day & other competitive situations arise failing by coming last in the race or having the lowest test score will come at you like being hit by a truck. So let’s teach kids that competition is healthy. Not everyone can win or get the best score but just like learning to walk you don’t give up. It’s the element of keep trying, doing your best. Best endeavours, these are skills for life. Turning any negative & limiting beliefs into can do attitude.

It's the elephant in the room of character education: as teachers, we want our pupils to succeed. Children have to be allowed to fail; giving everyone a medal just for trying subliminally communicates that there is no point in bothering to try, because there is no reward for risking their time or energy. At one school where I taught, we challenged Year 5 (4th Grade) children to write their own short plays. It was a competition, so only three of each class of 20+ would be taken forward and performed in the Writers' Showcase. The children loved it and leant into the challenge, because there was a clear reward and success point. The three successful playwrights got to direct their own play live on stage.

Now if the children is in the difficult situation, if he/she needs to follow the path of resilience, it shoud be only possible if he/she knows how to deal with such situations, and we taught them by teaching one of the most crucial learning or skills which is nothing but Problem-Solving.

In my Experience the best way to nurture resilience in children is making them learn the concept of “delayed gratification” once they understand the reason behind the gratification and the perks and privileges associated with delayed gratification, patience will creep in making the individual more in self-control and resilient

The best way to teach resilience is by walking the talk. Tell them about your personal story and how you had been resilient throughout your journey. When you share your personal experience, students feel connected and accept you as a "Guru" from their heart.