The demands and stresses of contemporary life seem far removed from the idyllic days of toddlerhood. While your child may not yet be exposed to the more extreme life events that happen from time to time, there are pressures in the toddler years that can be formative. How you prepare and teach your child to respond to these challenges will shape how they function later.
Establishing resilience in your child from an early age is essential for them to flourish throughout their life. Indeed, it is important to develop the resilience of your child in both a physical and a psychological sense. Whether you are switching them off infant formula and onto more solid food or if you are teaching them the basics of interpersonal relationships, there are many opportunities to introduce effective resilience techniques in your young child.
Let’s look at some specific ways to build resilience in your toddler in a way that will last.
Provide High-Quality Nutrition
Giving your child access to a healthy and balanced diet is essential for building up a strong immune system. Taking the time to carefully research what your toddler needs to develop properly and applying this knowledge to your meal plans can boost your child’s resilience against many pathogens and ailments that could affect them later in life.
To give your child a truly robust resilience against pathogens in the early years, look for foods that are fortified or supplemented with pre and probiotics. These healthy bacteria are vital for creating a thriving gut flora that will improve your child’s digestion and even benefit their mental health. The connection between emotional well-being and gut health is something that is at the cutting edge of contemporary medical research.
Bond With Your Child
One of the best strategies to give your child a positive and resilient outlook on life is to establish a close emotional bond with them. Try spending quality time with your child as often as you can. As they grow up, make the effort to be interested in their activities and take the time to play with them. Comfort them when they need it and let them know that you care for them unconditionally. The ways that you model a positive connection with them in their early years is how they will interact with their peers and future adults they meet in their life.
Let Them Solve Some Problems On Their Own
Part of building resilience in your child is establishing a healthy sense of self-confidence in them. To this end, there are many instances in which you can let them solve their own problems, with a little guidance on your part. Instead of immediately providing a solution to their dilemmas, unless they are serious, you can instead ask them questions and slowly bring them around to figuring out an answer for themselves. You can do this in a more structured way for bigger decisions by exploring a list of pros and cons with your child.
Be The Change You Want To See
Ideally, you should be a model of the resilience that you want to inspire in your child. Avoid getting overly upset or irrational when things do not go as expected in your own life. Take a deep breath and try to use the most effective course of action to solve your own problems. When you make mistakes, be honest with yourself and with your child. This will teach them that nobody is perfect, and we can all just try our best.
Following the above strategies in your own life as a role model for your child will ensure that they, along with the rest of your household, develop a resilience that lasts them a lifetime.
