What is resilience? and How to develop resilience in children...

My recent teaching experiences in supporting a child transition into the class has made me think about why some children have resilience and others might not and how the resilience can be developed in children.

I have been supporting a child and his mum in the transition to the class. The child has never been to early childhood centre so this has been very challenging for the child as well as the mother who has not separated from the child for a long period of time.

First step was for the child and his mum to know that this is a safe place. It is important that the child develops a sense of belonging in the class so that the child can learn. To do this, it was significantly vital that I develop a secure relationship with him and his mum.
I have made a book about coming to school which included what he could do at school, who was there to help him, and routines of the day.

Te Whāriki (New Zealand Early Childhood curriculum) talks about the importance of the link between the home and the centre (school), so I talked to his mum about him bringing something that can comfort him, this could be mum's scarf, teddy bears, or something to snuggle with.

A part of the Well-Being strand from Te Whāriki discusses the development of confidence in independency, and positive attitude towards self-help/self care skills, and without feeling safe and comfortable, children will find it very hard to manage themselves.

I have been buddying him up with his friend to go to the toilet, and letting him know about what will happen today at morning tea/lunch break as I have found that the routine changes can upset him.


I have read the article called "Building resilience in children" by Beyond Blue Organisation, and collected some ideas about how to support the child and his family.

What is resilience?
Beyond blue defines reliance as "managing and responding to emotions in a healthy way".

Talking about feelings and children able to articulate those feelings are important.
-Ask open ended questions.

•  "What's the best thing that happened today?"
• "What was the toughest thing....?"

-Talking about feelings and acknowledging those feelings 

• "I can see you are upset/sad."
• "It is ok to cry." 

Children need to be able to identify their emotions. 

-Regulating their emotions

• Putting in words to how others are feeling 
• Develop healthy thinking habits (positive self-talk, self-compassion, sense of optimism, positive attitude). 

*Beyond Blue defines "healthy thinking habits" as "looking at the world in a balanced way". 

Healthy thinking teachers children to know how their thoughts affect problems and feeling in everyday life. 

Since reading this article, I have changed the rest time routine to a meditation session where positive talks are encouraged. We sit together in a circle and meditate. We listen to the music and clam ourselves down.
We then talk to ourselves positively. Words we use are "I can do it." "I keep trying." "I am giving it a go." I use examples of what I saw that day where a child was trying or giving something a go. I talk about how we can solve a challenging situation when we feel frustrated or feel like a negative thought was in our heads.

We have recently incorporated some yoga poses into the meditation session too. The children really enjoy this.

2 weeks has passed since the child has started the transition to school, and the progress that this child has made is astonishing, and it is all about practicing, getting used to the routines, having the strategies to cope with some challenging situations, and most importantly developing a secure relationship with the child and his mum. It is amazing to see the change in him. No more tears in the morning!!!