Learning to Cope: Building Resilience in Yourself and Your Child

Many families face stressful situations, including parental depression, community violence, and poverty. Adversities like these can be painful for the children in these families. But the hopeful news is that research on children facing such problems has shown that many children show resilience and do surprisingly well. Resilience is the ability to cope with the stress caused by such challenging situations. You can encourage resilience in your child and develop it in yourself. Remember ? even those children who are facing the most difficult life situations do not all turn out the same. But fostering resilience in yourself and your child can help you both feel stronger.