Resilience

While at Tweddle parents learn to install the building blocks for a resilient life.

Resilience starts with babies and families with benefits flowing through to adolescence, sports teams, workplaces and communities. So how does a resilient life start? A baby or toddler’s experiences can include; “I can feel upset, I am not alone, someone is here for me, I am worthwhile, I will try again.”

These experiences will impact upon relationships, school, at work, in sport and in the community throughout life.

At Tweddle, an empowered and informed parent will learn “things haven’t gone to plan today and that’s ok, I feel supported and confident to ask for help, I am a good enough parent and feel positive for the future. I can help my baby feel secure.”

How does a baby picking up a block become a positive, engaged member of the workforce? Through attuned parenting, a parent playing with a child can demonstrate to their baby or toddler that things don’t always go to plan however, the blocks can be knocked down, I can feel sad, or angry, I can calm down and understand that it can be built again.

Play allows children time to problem solve, explore and develop a sense of their own efficacy, this cannot be underestimated in the development of resilience. A parent playing with a baby or toddler helps them to develop confidence and their place in the world.

Play helps to develop lifelong problem solving skills which come in handy when ‘things’ don’t go to plan. A child’s sense of “hey, I can solve this, I believe in myself’ is embedded early in life by engaged parents.

Recognising a baby or toddler’s emotions e.g. feeling angry or worried and encouraging them to share how they are feeling teaches them how to regulate their emotions by breathing and calming down, this is a valuable part of developing resilience. As adults, being able to calm down under pressure at work, playing sport or with a partner is vital.

Programs at Tweddle incorporate play and music therapy sessions which demonstrate to parents that it’s the little things that build resilience.