Kids resiliency will surprise us
Learning how to get along on the playground is fundamental to resiliency.
I know a 10-year-old only child of estranged parents constantly in court over who gets to see the child when.One parent always wants more time, rigidity and control, and drags the other parent and pricey lawyers to court. It’s a sad difficult situation. I can’t wait to see what this develops in the child, alias “Morgan,” who is surrounded by doting adults — mother, father, step-father, aunts, uncles and grandparents.
Daily, Morgan gets to wrangle with adults who deliver conflicting, true, false, tempting and misleading information. In ten years, Morgan has been exposed to a plethora of people, situations and family constellations.
I predict Morgan will develop discernment and powerful instincts for people, truth and trustworthiness. Morgan may become a psychologist, lawyer, or CEO with leadership skills because s/he will know how to get people to do what s/he wants — which is the art of management and leadership.
In short, no matter what we do to our kids, they are resilient and something positive may emerge from our mistakes and difficult situations.
I know a young person who grew up living in public housing with one parent hooked on drugs. This person has sworn to never be without money as an adult. That experience created a powerful motivation, work ethic and entrepreneurial spirit.
No matter how we mess up our kids, and it’s guaranteed that we will mess up because there are no perfect parents, most of them survive and thrive. Moms and dads have a propensity towards worry and guilt, which is good. We should worry about what we do and constantly improve how we manage and nurture our kids. Worry and guilt are triple if your child is adopted, has a learning disability or some other handicap, or if you’re a single parent. All of these obstacles are learning opportunities.
When they leave home and find their own path, it’s amazing to see how seeds and weeds planted during childhood grow beautiful sometimes unexpected flowers.
Tags: divorced parents, resilient children, single moms, single parents
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April 24, 2012 at 10:40 pm
I hope Morgan appreciates the life lessons she is getting!
April 27, 2012 at 9:31 am
Hi, Sue.
Thanks for sharing this. I’ll pass it along – some very positive and practical advice here. Bon, Parent Forward.
April 30, 2012 at 5:14 am
Thank you for this. Glad you mentioned that parents should worry about what we are doing and strive to improve. I hope Morgan thrives in life.