Resilience in the Early Years

During the first week of school I found myself digging holes in the sandpit with a group of three and four year olds in the K1 outdoor area. I was surrounded by these young children who had only just met. This was an unfamiliar environment for all of them, for some, their first ever school experience. Yet here they were communicating with confidence, working collaboratively on a project and sharing resources as if they had been here forever. I was so incredibly impressed with this display of adaptability and resilience by our young learners, and it got me thinking......

Resilience is a universal capacity which allows a person, group or community to prevent, minimise or overcome the damaging effects of adversity.Through the development of resilience, children learn to embrace challenge and take responsibility for shaping a better world. Resilience provides the foundation for all children to succeed in their education and in the rest of their lives.

At UWCSEA resilience means:

Anticipate, persevere and confront challenge.

Related concepts: optimism, confidence, courage, diligence, perseverance

Aspects of being resilient:

• optimistic and confident attitude when faced with challenge

• courage in unfamiliar situations

• persevere by viewing obstacles as opportunities to learn

• work effectively in a climate of ambiguity and changing priorities

So, why is developing resilience in young children so important? Resilience makes a big difference in people’s lives. People who respond to hardships with resilience are:

• healthier and live longer

• happier in their relationships

• more successful in school and work

• less likely to get depressed

Research has shown that resilient children:

• have good relationships because they are caring, flexible, can understand others’ feelings and can laugh at themselves and situations.

• are independent, active and confident that they can get things done

• have a sense of purpose and hope for the future

• feel that they are worthwhile and can make a difference

• have support from their families and communities

• are expected to do well by their families and communities

Ensuring children have opportunity for open exploratory play in a meaningful context, relevant to their lives is a perfect avenue to explore resilience. Things don't always go to plan but the blocks can be knocked down, I can feel sad, or angry, I can calm down and understand it can be built again. Play that is developmentally appropriate, allows children time to explore, problem solve and develop a sense of their own efficacy cannot be underestimated in the development of resilience. 

How can you help your child to develop this skill? 

• Create security for younger children by having daily routines and sticking to them.

• Don’t try to protect children from problems and difficulties. Making mistakes and coping with tough times are how we grow to be stronger, more capable people.

• When a child is worried about something, help them to think about what they can do to reduce the worry, and not to focus too much on what they can’t do.

• Help children to develop optimistic thinking. Optimistic thinking is about thinking positively, and this can help us overcome difficulties and find solutions to problems.

• Help them to make friends with other children and adults. The social support that comes from having good relationships is really important for resilience.

• Help them to realise that not everyone has to like them for them to be a worthwhile person. Popularity is not the most important thing.

• Give them opportunities to try new things so that they can learn what they really like to do, and what they are good at and not so good at.

• Give encouragement and praise when they have done something well or tried hard – this will help them feel more confident and more likely to try again.

• Have high, but realistic, expectations of them. Believe in them – every child is unique, worthwhile and has their own unique strengths, such as kindness, curiosity or perseverance.