New study finds the key to raising resilient children

THESE activities can lessen the impact of adverse events such as divorce, death and family violence, a new study has found.

Sisters Giselle and Claudia love holding lemonade stands to raise money. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

PARENTS can build resilience in kids by encouraging them to volunteer, play sport and do paid and unpaid work, a new study has found.

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Ground breaking research from Yale University in the United States shows families can lessen the impact of adverse events such as divorce, death and family violence by building their skills and experiences outside of the home.

Lead author Dr Tammie Kwong drew on a nationally representative survey of 63,000 boys and girls, representing 48 million children across the US.

The findings, published in the latest Child Abuse and Neglect journal, show one in three children aged 12 to 17 are flourishing despite facing three or more adverse events.

The difference is the time they spend engaged in activities outside of the home.

“Positive social connections appear to help youth define individual identities, provide them with a sense of belonging and attachment, and offer important opportunities to learn healthy adaptive responses to adverse experiences,” Dr Kwong said.

Australian psychologist and intuitive parenting expert Jodie Benveniste said children doing activities outside of the home “introduces them to new people and situations, and helps them to develop new skills and capabilities”.

“Every time that we encourage and allow our children to try new things, take on new responsibilities and gain more independence, we open up opportunities for them to become more resilient,” she said.

Donvale mother-of-three Alexandra Bellizia, 44, is very proud of the initiative and resourcefulness shown by her daughters Giselle, 9, and Claudia, 14.

“They love holding lemonade stands and have had two recently that did a roaring trade.

“It’s not always easy because you get all types of people — some brush them off, others don’t want to buy anything,” she said.

“It does build their resilience and is good for their independence,” she said.

Most recently the girls raised $65 which will be put towards a new pet rabbit.

The Deepdene Stuart sisters, Jessica, 11, Louise, 9, and Sarah, 7, have also held lemonade stands, cake stalls and garage sales.

One stall raised money for a family friend who has cancer. “They turned their sadness into doing something positive for him by selling the cakes in our street and feeling they had made a difference. They only made about $20 but to them it was huge,” their mother Belinda Stuart said.

Local parenting expert and author Justin Coulson said building resilience involved doing something for others and making a contribution.

“This makes us feel elevated, uplifted and purposeful,” he said.

“It allows children to feel they are making a difference”.

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