No matter what stage of development a child is at, parents will always have opportunities to help their children build resiliency by protecting them from environmental stressors. Fostering a close, warm relationship is a key principle for parents to help their children combat daily stress and to develop resiliency. Warm relationships help children feel more secure, especially when they are experiencing daily stressors of life.
One way to foster a warm relationship with your children is to model and discuss self-control. The ability to regulate emotions and behavior is crucial for children to succeed in school, at work, and in social relationships. Here are some ways to model behaviors and talk about self-control:
- When talking about how you feel, also talk about what you will do to appropriately express or release those feelings.
- Model the proper behavior you want to see in your child, including responses to anger.
- Play games with your children that support self-control such as musical chairs or red light/green light.
Source: https://www.apa.org/topics/parenting/tip-tool-brochure.pdf
