Issue link: http://viha.uberflip.com/i/1417106
12 Island Health magazine Would you consider yourself to be resilient? What about your children? What makes some people more resil- ient than others? How can we support children to become more resilient? According to Dr. Lise McLewin, a Registered Psychologist who works with children and youth, these are all questions that challenge us to look at our interactions and wellbeing from a different perspective. "Resilience is when a person not only bounces back following stress or change, but they have learned from the experience, which will help them cope better with the next stressor that comes along," says McLewin. "We know that we can't remove the challenges that our children will face but if we can tip the scales with skills and support, then our children are more likely to flourish," she notes. So how do we become more resilient? There are numerous ways to nurture resilience, and it's something that can be done at any age, so adults and chil- dren can work on it together. BE SUPPORTIVE All articles about resilience point to how important it is for children to have supportive adults in their lives. This can be a parent, caregiver, grandparent or another adult. Guiding children through challenges is not always easy, and it is a daily practice in how we speak to children and help them see their own strengths. "Growth Mindset is a concept supported by many teachers," says McLewin. "Basically, it's the idea that brains are developing and able to grow. The language with Growth Building resilience in children The word resilience comes up a lot in conversations about life after COVID. Resilience has been defined as "the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness." Resilience is not something that we are born with—it's something that develops over time through our experiences, the world around us, our families and our own traits and skills. families