RESILIENCE GUIDE FOR CHILDREN

How to be resilient?

Resilience is like a muscle — the more you train it, the better you get.

What is resilience?

Resilience doesn't mean bad things won't happen to you. It's more like learning to ride a bike. You fall, your knees hurt, but you get up and try again a little differently. A resilient person isn't someone who never cries or gets scared. It means that even when things are hard, you find a way to keep going.

Resilience isn't something you're either born with or not. It's a skill, just like swimming, cycling, or scoring penalties. The more you practise it, the better you become.

STORY

The cancelled trip

All week you were looking forward to the school trip. Every day you ticked off another box in the calendar, imagining adventures with your friends. The evening before departure you carefully packed your backpack.

But then your phone pinged. The trip leader was ill and the trip was cancelled. You were so, so disappointed.

You let your sad feelings be for a while. Then you took a deep breath and called your classmates to see if they wanted to go cycling together.

Resilience doesn't mean we're not sad. It means we allow ourselves to feel our feelings — and then we look for a new path.

SOURCES OF RESILIENCE