Social Resilience

Last Tuesday, my 8-year-old came home from school with tears in her eyes. “Some kids were making fun of my new glasses at recess,” she sobbed. Instead of immediately jumping in to fix the situation, I remembered our family’s commitment to the Life-Ready approach. I listened to her feelings, validated her hurt, and then asked, “What do you think you could do if that happens again?” The look of surprise mixed with determination on her face told me we had a perfect opportunity to practice handling teasing in a low-stakes environment. ...

Last Thursday, my 8-year-old came home from school with tears streaming down her face. “The girls didn’t let me play soccer with them at recess,” she sobbed. “They said the team was full.” It turned out that the group had made a decision to keep the teams balanced, but my daughter interpreted it as personal rejection. I knelt beside her and whispered, “Life-Ready Parenting means your child won’t face this for the first time at age 25—with rent due and no safety net.” In that moment, I realized we had a perfect opportunity to practice navigating brief group exclusion in a low-stakes environment. ...