In this book, author and paediatrician Kenneth Ginsburg, offers parents, teachers and primary caregivers a guide to help children and teens deal with stress and build seven key principles to develop resilience and cope with life’s challenges – competence, confidence, connection, character, contribution, coping, and control.
Gisnsburg says all children are born with a natural resilience. Some recover from adversity quicker than others, whilst some need extra support to help them reduce stress and cope with academic pressures, peer pressure, family conflict and media messages. He claims that all children can be taught to be resilient.
Resilience is a trait parents hope their children will develop to help them cope with life’s challenges. He focuses on reinforcing the approaches parents, teachers and primary caregivers use and help support children develope skills that will make them more resilient.
This book provides a wide range of tactics, including building on natural strengths, fostering hope and optimism, avoiding risky behaviours, and taking care of oneself physically and emotionally. This edition includes new chapters on the topic of grit, stress and how one’s perception of stress affects what stress really is, toxic stress, and the protective role of nurturing adults. It also addresses the issue of adolescents responding to stress by either indulging in unhealthy behaviours or giving up completely. The suggested solutions are aimed at strengthening resilience.
