Mental Health is important. Whether you’re a parent, an educator, a coach, a much older sibling, or anyone who shares in the responsibility of raising children, it’s important to ensure that kids grow up to be mentally strong. This is crucial, as mental strength can be a bigger predictor of future success than IQ alone. Below we share a few key strategies for raising kids to be mentally resilient.
1.) Help them understand and manage their emotions
Using tools such as a set of colored deboss fil wristbands can help small children better identify what they are feeling. The idea is that wristbands with colors that correspond to certain emotions can be worn by kids to express what they feel. They can then swap out the wristband for one a different color depending on their specific mood. This can lay a good foundation for learning to manage emotions reinforce the idea that there are things we can control, even when our feelings are getting the better of us.
2.) Allow them to fail sometimes
Children that are not allowed to fail early on are often unable to process things when they inevitably fail later in life. Resist the temptation to protect children from the consequences of their actions. Let them experience failure when it’s safe and help them learn from the failure so that they don’t repeat the same mistakes.
3.) Teach them to be grateful
“Gratitude” can be empty if kids don’t understand emotions and how to empathize. Rather than just telling them to be grateful when they complain about something, use stories to help them better understand and contextualize the world around them. This can be a better way to help them learn how to be truly grateful instead of just going through the motions of gratitude.
4.) Help them face fears with problem-solving
It’s normal for people to have fears, adults and children included. It can be beneficial for both you and your child to process your fears together by attempting to approach them from a problem-solving perspective. The point isn’t necessarily to banish fear (though that would be ideal) but to emphasize that we can still persevere through it and come up with workable solutions. This can be one of the most valuable life lessons your child can learn, as well.
5.) Teach them how to refrain negative thoughts
If a child expresses negative thoughts, it’s important to acknowledge these thoughts rather than telling off the child for them. However, you shouldn’t leave it at just that. It’s also important to help your child find the positives in any situation. This can be an important habit to cultivate so that your child will not be stopped in their tracks due to any single problem.
6.) Help them understand personal responsibility
Building the framework with which a child can be mentally tough will be meaningless if they don’t understand personal responsibility. While it’s important for children to look to their parents and other authority figures for guidance and to help them with problems they cannot yet face, adults should encourage them to take responsibility for things they can affect. The other side of this is that children should be taught how to accept and move on from things they cannot affect so that they do not grow up to be anxious.
7.) Don’t expect perfection
Children can only be children once in their lives. We mustn’t forget that in our attempts to guide them to a better future. Do the best you can to keep them from bad habits but also help them find their path and own motivations.
8.) Praise hard work more than achievements
Achievements should be rewarded, but hard work should be recognized as well. You should try to praise and reward hard work regardless of whether there were any achievements or not. The reason for this is that we want to help the child build an appreciation for the “system” that breeds success rather than just the success itself.
The idea of being “mentally-strong” is about resilience and tenacity rather than smarts. Mental strength, as opposed to intelligence, is highly-centered around how a person works with their emotions. When a person of any age has mental strength, they are in a better position to make good decisions, even during trying circumstances. If anything, the gift of mental toughness can be more valuable than anything else we can give to a child outside of love.
What other strategies for building mental toughness would you try for your kids? Tell us.
Pinstripe Magazine Staff
Online Men’s Lifestyle Magazine on Gear, Grooming, Girls, Gadgets
