Teaching Kids to Cope
Many people have never been helped to cope with pain of any kind – disappointment, frustration, anger, fear, insecurity, despair, sadness, rage. So when they feel any of these emotions, they look for a way to obliterate their feelings, rather than modify or manage them.
Practice the following to help your children learn healthy coping skills:
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Help children learn to face that life is not always fair
- Explain that it’s not realistic to be happy all the time and why. When a child is unhappy, it is important to:
- Address the real issue, instead of trying to obliterate it
- Discuss how to face your real fears and failures and empower yourself
- Help your child to bear what seems unbearable to him/her
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Communicate that physical pain is the body’s warning signal that something is wrong and emotional pain helps us understand that something is wrong inside our minds.
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Allow your child to face natural consequences of his/her behavior. As a parent you never want to see your child struggle . However, if you are always rescuing them they will not acquire the practice at coping they need to adapt as healthy adults.
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Encourage your child to build a healthy support system to help them during difficult times. That includes guidance counselors, teacher at school, coaches, relatives or other mentors.
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Show them how you cope. Be a good/healthy role model. If you have a hard day in the office – do you go for a run or write in your journal?
