Starting the Year with Emotional Resilience

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Happy New Year Everyone!

What is Emotional Resilience?

Emotional resilience is the ability to recognize, understand, and manage emotions, even when faced with life's challenges. Children who are emotionally resilient tend to handle stress better, form stronger relationships, and feel more confident in their abilities.

How Can You Foster Emotional Resilience?

1. Validate Their Feelings

2. Model Emotional Regulation

3. Create a Safe Emotional Environment

4. Focus on the Positive, Even in Challenging Times
   Today, we will focus on #4!

Focus on the Positive, Even in Challenging Times

In the Nurtured Heart Approach, Howard Glasser emphasizes the power of focusing on what’s right in our children, rather than their challenges. By naming their greatness through emotionally nutritious words, we empower them to see themselves positively and grow emotionally strong.

Rather than engaging with negative behavior, we can acknowledge and celebrate the smallest positive actions.

For example:

1) If your child is screaming, do not engage with the screaming. Instead, wait for even the smallest moment of calm, like when they take a deep breath.

2) Then, notice and name their greatness: "I just saw your greatness in problem solving. When having big feelings, I saw you take a deep breath to slow your breathing. That is a great start to solving this problem."

EXAMPLES of Naming That Greatness:

Attentive : "I saw your attentive greatness. You listened with your eyes and ears and asked questions when you didn’t understand something."

Brave : "I saw your bravery greatness.  You went up to the new student at recess and introduced yourself, even though it might have felt a little scary."

Compassionate : "I see that you are compassionate because when you noticed your friend was upset, you sat with them to offer comfort and asked about how they were feeling."

Calling all parents,

Challenge yourself to use as many emotionally nutritious words when engaging with your kids, especially in challenging times!

Ideas:

1. Starting with “A”, go through the alphabet to name your child’s greatness that starts with that letter. 

2. Write any emotionally nutritious words on papers, place them in a jar. Pull out a paper when you are finding it difficult to come up with any positive to acknowledge in your child. 

More examples of “Emotionally Nutritious Words” -termed by Howard Glasser

It often feels awkward and unnatural to speak in this manner. It takes practice but it will pay off! I would love to hear from you on how this is going. 

With gratitude,
Noriko Abenojar
Parenting Redefined