Life can be unbelievably tough, with unfortunate events happening to even the luckiest of people. One of the most important lessons that we can teach our children is that of not giving up when things go wrong or start to become difficult. As parents, we always try to teach our children to be as proactive as possible to avoid problems. This simply is not always an option as unplanned bad things happen to everyone. The reaction of us as parents has a much larger impact than the event itself in many cases. The following are events and how to react to them to show teach your kids about resilience.
Fired from a Job
One of the worst feelings in the world is being fired or laid off, especially when you have a family to support. This can send a person into a deep depression where they feel helpless. Don’t be the parent who does not get out of their pajamas because of a setback. Get up early each day and start working on finding a new full-time gig. Your resume needs to be updated ASAP as sending this out a multitude of times will increase your likelihood of receiving an interview. Do not get discouraged if your first few interviews do not go as planned as they can be considered practice for other upcoming interviews. If you aren’t sure that your resume looks great, take a look online at a few resume examples for inspiration.
Health Problems
Chronic health problems or injuries in the family can change the way the entire family lives. Dealing with injuries or disease can be extremely frustrating alone, but this compounds when you add the responsibilities of being a parent. If you are injured in some type of accident, it is important not to put off physical therapy. Show your children that even though you might be down, you certainly are not out. Toughness is something that many parents do not teach these days, but it is necessary to be a success in life. Constantly complaining about an injury or condition will teach your children that you are powerless against certain situations. Therapy might be needed for your children in these cases though as health problems can impact everyone’s lives.
Relationship Problems
Relationship problems, for the most part, should be kept from the children as it is a form of stress no child should have to deal with. Working on your communication skills can be a great way to show your kids that relationships are work. Healthy relationships do include fighting, but it is best to do this in private. Do not be ashamed if you have to go to family or relationship counseling as this shows you are working your hardest to remedy any problems. Fighting in the family can be very common, so it is important to take the time to try to mend these problems. Far too many families become disjointed due to members not being able to forgive or a grudge being held so long that now it would be uncomfortable to resume a relationship.
Financial Issues
Financial issues can lead to quite a bit of fighting even in the calmest of households. This is not the time to give up but rather the time to show your kids how hard you and your significant other can work. Picking up a second job is not as difficult as many people think it is especially freelancing thriving unlike ever before. A few hours a day of work can make a huge difference in a monthly budget. One job simply is not enough in many circumstances for people to live the lifestyle they desire. Use financial issues as a teaching point in order to teach your children fiscal responsibility. Far too many people are not taught to budget in a correct manner leading to them mismanaging their money.
As you can see these are just a few of the many situations where you can show your children not to give up. Resilience really is just the refusal to quit even though things might not be going well. Instilling this in your children not only will help them for life, but they can also teach these qualities to their friends as well.
My books:
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World
- Junior Library Guild Gold selection
- Selected as one of 100 Outstanding Picture Books of 2023 by dPICTUS and featured at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair
- Starred review from School Library Journal
- Chicago Library’s Best of the Best
- 2023 INDIES Book of the Year Awards Finalist
- Green Earth Book Award longlist
- Imagination Soup’s 35 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 for Kids
Amazon / Barefoot Books / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Scholastic / Signed or Inscribed by Me
