Building bravery in young children equips them with the skills required to face challenges and overcome obstacles. Trying new things and stretching the boundaries of what’s comfortable present opportunities for young minds to revel in success or learn from failure.
Courage builds self-esteem. Courage trumps anxiety. Courage inspires growth. Courage opens doors. Courage can be taught. Outfitting our children and students with this trait is a gift that provides lifelong benefits, and there are methods to bolstering courage in kids.
Being able to name the feeling makes it easier to respond appropriately. “I’m nervous” is different than “I’m excited” but both cause jitteriness, sweating, and butterflies. Expanding a child’s emotional lexicon encourages self-reflection and accurate identification of sensations to help guide behavior.
Tell stories about bravery. Read books in which the protagonist faces a fear or demonstrates resilience. You can even explore real-life famously brave characters in history who bucked norms and trail-blazed. These messages resonate with curious minds.
Encourage age-appropriate risk-taking. Explore new environments, try new hobbies, allow new freedoms. Confronting challenges without a hovering parent helps kids to conquer their fears and define their capabilities.
Be supportive and non-judgmental when your child reveals their fears. Validate their feelings and offer reassurance while providing a supportive environment for them to navigate their next steps.
Lead by example. Modeling calm and brave behavior promotes these same mannerisms in our audience. If kids see their parents or teachers “freaking out”, they will assume this is the standard and will follow suit.
Foster positive self-talk. Instead of “I can’t do this” say “I haven’t tried this yet”. Counter negative thoughts with encouraging mantras that build confidence. It helps to hear it from the grown-ups in the room but it’s even more powerful if the kids can internalize this messaging.
This time of year, as school wraps up and our kids are faced with final exams, AP tests, college decisions, new summer camp cohorts, gap year adventures, summer internships, and other anxiety-provoking situations, it’s a great time to practice encouraging courage.
We are living through an epidemic of anxiety in young people. Increasingly more often we are seeing children and teens backing down from a challenge, relying on outsized support or accommodations, or practicing avoidance of unpleasant experiences. Encouraging courage in kids— by validating what scares them and creating the space for them to safely move forward regardless— is a vital exercise in building brave and resilient adults. It’s like they say, “tough times never last, but tough people do.”
