Help Your Kids Tap Into Their Inner Strength

Facing Difficult Challenges is an Inevitable Part of Growing Up, but Learning to Navigate Life’s Obstacles Can Become an Important and Formative Experience

Many of us are lucky enough to be able to look back fondly on our childhoods and remember the easy joy and limitless potential that seemed to fill each day. However, even the happiest of childhoods don’t seamlessly transition straight into adulthood without a few bumps along the road. At some point, we’ve all faced adversity of some kind and our children will undoubtedly have challenges of their own to overcome. No matter how much we’d like to, we can’t solve all their problems for them, but we can help them tap into strengths they might not know they have and offer our support.

Brent Feinberg, best-selling children’s book author and integrative healer, provides advice to five parents whose children are struggling with hard situations that, if handled correctly, could help prepare them for future challenges.

Q: MY DAUGHTER (AGED 11) IS BEING BULLIED BY OTHER GIRLS AT HER SCHOOL.

They purposely leave her out of activities and call her names. She’s a kind, sensitive girl and I’m not sure whether I should encourage her to stand up for herself or help her focus inwards instead. How can I help her overcome this challenge and keep her spirits and confidence up?

A: In one of my stories, Freeing Freddie – The Dreamweaver, Mr Cotton, a wise and friendly spider, teaches our protagonist Freddie that through challenges, we learn and grow. We become both softened and strengthened. Although it may be difficult to see at first, challenges can actually be gifts, allowing us to become more loving and compassionate, even as we become stronger, more resilient and more capable.