How to Raise Resilient Kids
When Naina came to us, the statement her mother made was that she stays huddled up in the room, crying incessantly.
Shalini was not worried that her 18-year-old was struggling through adolescence. It was her extreme fragility that was deeply concerning.?
She was always scared of failure and needed a shield at all times. Postponing her homework deadlines, asking for a re-test, never sure if she was a good friend, worried that her teachers didn’t like her. It was always something that was just waiting to set her off.?
The parents kept asking how do we make her stronger and surer. Less than 2 feet away, they had a younger daughter who was diametrically opposite.?
Most parents turn to help the child by shielding them from pain, or telling them to ignore it because it isn’t real and that they are stronger. Or worse, that there are children with real problems out there.?
Less than effective approaches since our desire to shield them from pain makes their inability to deal with failure worse.?
Asking them to ignore the fear or saying they need to man up and face it, makes them feel guilty and wonder where they are wrong.
At?Skooc, we work with parents in helping prepare their child for disappointments, failures, and betrayals while protecting them from physical dangers, from digital dangers, from being bullied.?
There is a line that we see has been blurred and needs to be re-defined and as parents, we need to re-look at what we call protection and what we should consider preparing.?
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Devi Mani
Founder & CEO
Skooc