Delay Gratification
One major limitation in developing resilience is the instant gratification our world has created for our kids. Because of this, our kids are easily bored. They give up easily whenever there is no immediate reinforcement. And they get frustrated when they can’t have something now.
Begin to build more opportunities for delayed gratification. Limit their screen time. Better yet, only let them have them when they can buy them on their own. (This alone will create so many resilience building opportunities for them, as they will be spending their time connecting, contributing, creating, and problem solving instead of gaming.)
Other ideas include only watching one show at a time once a week (ideally starting at the same time on the same day and if they are 10 minutes late, they miss the first 10 minutes of the show).
Play board games. This helps with so many skills like turn-taking, flexibility, problem solving, and coping with loss.
If you are interested in learning more, read my article on delayed gratification.
Move to # 16: Practice Gratitude
