Helping Kids Fight Disappointment & Building Resilience

posted: May 25, 2020.

For two months our kids have weathered a steady stream of disappointments, as one much-anticipated thing after another has been cancelled. With the coronavirus restrictions ongoing, the coming summer (not to mention school in the fall) is also likely to look very different than what children have come to expect. And it’s not only kids who are struggling. We’re all facing disappointments, and all weary of having to tell kids for the umpteenth time that we don’t know when things will return to normal, or anything close to it.

This week on childmind.org we discuss ways of helping children build healthy resilience to setbacks and learn to tolerate the uncertainty that stretches ahead of us. It starts by really listening to what they’re feeling — even though you know you can’t fix it. And with that in mind we also offer tips on ways to ask kids how they’re doing without getting that dreaded one-word brush-off: “Fine.”

Caroline Miller, Editorial Director | ✉