The Importance of Promoting Resilience During Childhood
Resilience is the capacity of many human beings to overcome difficult situations. Even though people may experience difficulties, they’re psychologically healthy and continue moving forward. This is why promoting resilience during childhood is so important. It doesn’t matter if too much water has flowed under the bridge.
Resilience as a process
Resilience is a process of healthy and dynamic development for human beings. In this process, personality and environment interact reciprocally.
In physics, resilience is the ability of materials to recover their size when they face external pressure and forces. With medicine, it’s used to express the ability to resist and get tough in the presence of critical situations.
Promoting resilience: the important question
Why do some people overcome difficult situations effortlessly while others just give in? Is the answer resilience? It could be. Among other factors, promoting resilience during childhood is very important.
By mentioning that too much water has flowed under the bridge, we meant that resilience has passed through different stages and it has both followers and detractors. Those who oppose this concept state that instead of preparing people to face these situations, we should try to reduce possible problems.
However, in medicine, it’s better not to think in black and white terms. It’s always better to include grey colors, in terms of different perspectives.
Characteristics of a resilient person
- Ability to introspect.
- Necessary motivation.
- Emotional self-regulation.
- Positive attitude and self-confidence.
Is promoting resilience difficult?
Let’s try to focus on the last characteristic we’ve mentioned: positive attitude and self-confidence. Is it always possible to maintain this?
Exploring your Mind describes positive attitudes as:
“Not just a label. It isn’t a catching phrase that you find on the wall of your social media platforms. To have a positive attitude towards life is a necessity. However, we all know that sometimes that’s not easy and that hard times may come without being expected. Therefore, it may seem impossible to crack a smile”.
Other opinions
Researchers from the Spanish Pediatrics Association state that the following elements promote resilience:
- “People protect themselves using different abilities, such as sensing something bad is happening. Then, they try to come up with a solution. They’re realistic and they don’t deny evidence or bad news”.
- “To narrate, write (your own autobiography) and share problems improve the ability to face them”.
- “Moving on. Putting an end to the problems, and letting time pass”.
- “Sense of humor. Because it helps to separate yourself from pain, fear, and anxiety“.
At the same time
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, it isn’t possible to protect children from life’s ups and downs:
“It’s possible to raise children capable of adapting and overcoming difficult situations. Furthermore, we can provide them with the necessary tools to face possible challenges they may encounter during adolescence and adulthood”.
“In spite of all our efforts, we can’t avoid adversities or every day tension. However, we can learn to be more optimistic by changing the way we think about challenges and setbacks.”
Promoting resilience
- Promoting resilience during childhood is very important. Even though too much water has flowed under the bridge, it’s essential to take the good parts of this concept and leave the controversial ones aside.
- Even if overcoming adversity isn’t always possible, resilience can be an essential element.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Asociación Española de Pediatría.
- Academia Americana de Pediatría.