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As parents, you probably want your children to be able to take on many challenges and cope with life’s difficulties. The good news is that this can be learned. Here are 4 tips to help your children build mental strength.
What does it mean to be mentally strong? It doesn’t mean being tough or intractable, but rather having the resources to face the challenges of life and what it offers. This strength is based on several personality traits such as confidence, perseverance or resilience, which can fortunately be acquired during childhood. How? On CBNC, psychologists give us their advice.
Help your children become independent
Confidence and self-motivation are important aspects of mental toughness. That means your kids shouldn’t depend on others to feel good about themselves, says psychotherapist Amy Morin. You can help kids become more empowered by repeating phrases that remind them, “that they are responsible for how they think, feel and behave – regardless of what those around them do”. Here are 4 to teach them:
- “All I can do is do my best.”
- “I must act with confidence.”
- “I’m pretty good.”
- “I choose to be happy today.”
Show them the value of hard things
It can be hard to watch your kids fail at something. But parents need to show their kids that taking on a tough challenge can teach them a lot, like how they perform under pressure. So remember to celebrate your kids when they show the courage to take on a tough challenge, recommends psychologist Mary C. Murphy, even when they fail. Help them reflect on what they learned and how they can apply those new lessons in the future.
A great tip for doing this is to tell your children personal stories about times when you persevered through difficult situations and what you learned from your past mistakes.
Stay optimistic
Your attitude can be contagious, which is why child psychologists stress that it’s important for parents to model good behavior for their children. That includes optimism, which is a key component of mental toughness, according to neuroscientist Wendy Suzuki.
So, children who are able to demonstrate optimism feel more in control of their own lives and are generally more confident when faced with new challenges. This is like repeating to your children when an event occurs “no problem, we have (such solution, such resource)”.If you keep saying it, your child listens to your coping strategy. And learns how to respond to his worry himself.” she boasts.
A key aspect of mental toughness is also emotional intelligence, which includes empathy and self-awareness. That’s why it’s important to also teach your children the importance of respecting others and themselves, including listening respectfully to each other’s point of view and apologizing when they’ve wronged someone, advises Amy Morin.
“This doesn’t mean that you or your children have to constantly apologize.”However, the expert qualifies. But mentally strong people “take responsibility for their behavior,” she wrote.They sincerely apologize when they regret their actions and try to make amends as much as possible.”
Slideshow: 10 tips to give your child confidence