{"id":22554,"date":"2020-10-25T07:02:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-25T07:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=22554"},"modified":"2020-10-31T14:31:48","modified_gmt":"2020-10-31T14:31:48","slug":"stressful-times-are-an-opportunity-to-teach-children-resilience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/stressful-times-are-an-opportunity-to-teach-children-resilience\/","title":{"rendered":"Stressful times are an opportunity to teach children resilience"},"content":{"rendered":"

Vanessa LoBue<\/a>, Rutgers University – Newark <\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Between the global COVID-19 pandemic, the associated economic downturn<\/a> and widespread protests over racism, it\u2019s difficult for everyone. Many people are struggling, consumed with anxiety and stress, finding ourselves unable to sleep or focus.<\/p>\n

As a developmental psychologist and researcher<\/a> on anxiety and fear in infants and young children, I have been particularly concerned about the impact of the pandemic on young people\u2019s mental health. Many have not physically been in school since March. They\u2019re isolated from friends and relatives. Some fear that they or loved ones will contract the virus; they may be hurt in racial violence or violence at home \u2013 or they might lose their home in a wildfire<\/a> or flood. These are very real life stressors.<\/p>\n

Decades of research<\/a> have documented serious consequences from chronic stress in childhood. But psychologists have identified ways in which parents teach children how to cope with adversity \u2013 an idea commonly known as resilience.<\/p>\n

The effects of childhood stress<\/h2>\n

Children cannot be protected from everything. Parents get divorced. Children grow up in poverty. Friends or loved ones are injured, fall ill or die. Kids can experience neglect, physical or emotional abuse or bullying. Families immigrate, end up homeless or live through natural disasters.<\/p>\n

There can be long-term consequences<\/a>. Hardship in childhood can physically alter the brain architecture<\/a> of a developing child. It can impair cognitive and social-emotional development<\/a>, impacting learning, memory, decision-making and more.<\/p>\n

Some children develop emotional problems, act out with aggressive or disruptive behavior, form unhealthy relationships or end up in trouble with the law. School performance often suffers, ultimately limiting job and income opportunities. The risk of suicide or drug and alcohol abuse<\/a> can increase. Kids who are exposed to chronic stress may also develop lifelong health issues<\/a>, including heart attack, stroke, obesity, diabetes and cancer.<\/p>\n

So how do some kids thrive amidst serious challenges, while others are overwhelmed by them? Researchers in my field are working to identify what helps children overcome obstacles and flourish when the odds are stacked against them.<\/p>\n

It seems to come down to both support and resilience<\/a>. Resilience is defined<\/a> as the ability to spring back, rebound or readily recover from adversity. It\u2019s a quality that allows people to be competent and accomplished despite tough circumstances. Some children from difficult backgrounds<\/a> do well from a young age. Others bloom later, finding their paths once they reach adulthood.<\/p>\n

Ann Masten, a pioneer in developmental psychology research, referred to resilience as \u201cordinary magic<\/a>.\u201d Resilient kids don\u2019t have some kind of superpower that helps them persevere while others flounder. It isn\u2019t a trait we\u2019re born with; it\u2019s something that can be fostered.<\/p>\n

The key factors that help kids build resilience<\/h2>\n

The same executive function skills<\/a> that create academic success seem to bestow critical coping strategies. With the capacity to focus, solve problems and switch between tasks, children find ways to adapt and deal with obstacles in a healthy way.<\/p>\n

Controlling behavior and emotions is also key. In a recent study<\/a>, 8- to 17-year-olds who maintained emotional balance despite mistreatment were less likely to suffer from depression or other emotional problems.<\/p>\n

However, relationships seem to be the foundation that keep children grounded. \u201cAttachment relationships<\/a>\u201d provide a lifelong sense of security and belonging. A parent\u2019s or caregiver\u2019s consistent support and protection<\/a> is crucial for healthy development and the most important of these relationships. Other caring adults can help: friends, teachers, neighbors, coaches, mentors or others. Having steadfast support<\/a> lends stability and helps kids build self-esteem, self-reliance and strength.<\/p>\n

Ruth Bader Ginsburg is an icon of resilience. She grew up in a Brooklyn working-class neighborhood and lost her mother \u2013 her main support figure \u2013 to cancer before graduating from high school. She persevered, graduated first in her class at Cornell University and ultimately became one of only four women to serve on the Supreme Court. Another example is John Lewis, who was the son of sharecroppers in segregated Alabama, yet become a pioneer in the civil rights movement and served 33 years in Congress.<\/p>\n

How to encourage resilience at home<\/h2>\n

There are many ways parents can help their children build resilience. Allowing children to talk \u2013 and really listening<\/a> \u2013 shows caring and acceptance, validates their feelings and helps them contextualize issues.<\/p>\n

Sometimes the answer is allowing kids some degree of autonomy<\/a>. Trusting them to try things on their own \u2013 and even fail \u2013 can help them learn to solve problems or deal with anger, disappointment or other uncomfortable emotions. \u201cCalm breathing\u201d techniques<\/a> offer another tool that helps children control emotions.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to note that many children face not just one but many<\/a>
\nhardships. For example, kids who live in poverty may have less present or less competent parents; have high daily levels of stress; suffer hunger, poor nutrition or live in crowded conditions, with few parks; have no health care; study in substandard schools; and have greater likelihood of abuse.<\/p>\n

Community-level<\/a> interventions can help reduce risks while helping children build resilience. These initiatives can provide better living circumstances through affordable housing and improve health by reducing pollution. Strong programs can engage teachers, parents and community members build a stable support system for local children.<\/p>\n

Classes in \u201csocial and emotional learning\u201d have been gaining traction in schools. This curriculum teaches children to understand and manage their feelings, develop empathy for others, make responsible decisions and solve problems.<\/p>\n

[Insight, in your inbox each day.<\/em> You can get it with The Conversation\u2019s email newsletter<\/a>.]<\/p>\n

These programs yield tangible results<\/a>: one analysis of 270,000 participants showed that students<\/a> raised their grades by an average of 11%. Other studies revealed that fewer participants dropped out of school, used drugs or engaged in criminal activity \u2013 and school behavior improved.<\/p>\n

Helping children build resilience is particularly critical now, as Americans face particular turbulence in daily life. Parents, too, need to guard their mental health in order to provide kids with crucial support: Building resilience isn\u2019t just kid stuff.<\/p>\n

More than 5 million kids<\/a> in the U.S. experience some kind of trauma each year. Thousands more live with chronic stress. So amid a global pandemic, it\u2019s more important than ever to provide children with as much support and \u201cordinary magic\u201d as we can.\"The<\/p>\n

Vanessa LoBue<\/a>, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Rutgers University – Newark <\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vanessa LoBue, Rutgers University – Newark Between the global COVID-19 pandemic, the associated economic downturn and widespread protests over racism, it\u2019s difficult for everyone. Many people are struggling, consumed with anxiety and stress, finding ourselves unable to sleep or focus. As a developmental psychologist and researcher on anxiety and fear in infants and young children, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":22555,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[292,42],"tags":[1789,1873,8864,7689,7958,8865,200,4151,383,7790],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22554"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22554"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22554\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22580,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22554\/revisions\/22580"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}