Week 3 – Resilience and Pre School Children ( Ages 3-5)
Positive relationships and environments that support healthy cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development provide the foundation for young children to develop the resources and skills they need to cope and adapt to adversity throughout childhood and the rest of their lives. Research has emphasized the importance of early childhood as a time for promoting resilience (Masten & Gewirtz 2006).
At this stage (Ages 3-5), children are just learning to walk , talk and may not be able to express all their emotions. As parents we need to watch out for signs of anxiety and fear and see how we can help them to cope .
Four ‘Easy To Do’ Tips for building resilience in Pre School Children
1. Create time to play with them so that they can express the fears and anxieties that they cannot put into words. Very young children feel safe and secure when wrapped in family closeness. Take lots of family time as key to fostering resilience at this age.
2. A good start in life is very important. Ensure they attend high quality pre-school or day care where they can be provided with the following skills: creative thinking, problem solving, meaningful participation in activities, making choice and taking responsibility. Children must grow up in the right environment to develop physically and mentally.
3. Links with families, other parents, community network and faith group are very important in building resilience in young children. They provide care and support, high expectation and also encourage the young children to participate in community activities, family functions and faith group functions. African proverb – “It takes a village to raise a child”.
4. Listen to your children, take time to understand their character, take them for who they are and build on this by teaching them empathy and compassion from early age. They crave for routine at this age, so explain or discuss changes in routine in order to teach them the concept of CHANGE from early stage in life.
In conclusion we must allow our children to take risk, experience change and bounce back as they take their baby steps which builds them up to adjust to larger changes and challenges of life as they get older .
Next week will I will be writing about building Resilience in Primary School children. Enjoy the rest of you week and the Bank Holiday, as you model and build resilience in your children