Why my parenting focus will be on resilience, not happiness

Hey champ,

Ever since Michael and I announced we’re having a baby, stacks of people have asked me what my parenting style will be like.

A question I’ve been getting a lot is what lesson I most want to teach my son. It’s something I’ve given a lot of thought.

See, there’s this idea that, as a parent, all we want for our kids is for them to be happy.

Of course we want our kids to be happy.

We don’t want them to get picked on, we don’t want anything bad to happen to them, we don’t want their hearts to be broken, we don’t want to see them upset and we don’t want them to hurt themselves.

But all of that stuff is inevitable.

There’s just no way we can guarantee that our kids will be happy 100% of the time.

We all face challenges in our life. Part of living is accepting that we’re gonna face times that are stressful and hard, and very often, those things will be completely outside our control.

So the main thing I want to impart on my son is resilience – the belief that he not only will go through hard times, but that he can.

Because of what I’ve been through I know that I can get through hard times and I know that I’m capable of anything I put my mind to. That’s what tough times teach us.

I want my son to know that the hard times he faces aren’t going to weaken him – they’re going to make him stronger.

Each time I go through a tough time in my life now, I think “I’ve had tough times before, and I’ve survived them – I’m gonna survive this one too.”

Teaching our kids how to keep building resilience is one of the most important things we can do as parents, teachers, mentors and friends.

Everywhere I go it’s what I get asked time and again.
Parents are always asking me how they can help their kids to be strong. And teens always ask me what they can do to be more confident.

That’s why I share stacks of strategies for getting through hard times, developing resilience and building confidence  in my brand new eBook for teens – Good Selfie.

I could talk about this stuff for ages so ….. I’m going to!

I’m gonna be LIVE on Facebook next Tuesday, August 15 at 6pm (AEST) to talk about the idea of resilience some more. I’ll also share my top tips for helping teens get through crap days – so if you’ve got a teen or tween-aged kid, get them to watch too!

They can ask me their questions and I’ll answer them live.

So, put it in your diary for next Tuesday, 6pm and tell your kids to watch too!

See you then!
Turia xx

PS:

Wanna know more about Good Selfie? I bet you do!

I’ve been working on this eBook for a while and I really love it. Basically I’ve answered all of the most common questions teens ask me. But it’s heaps better than just that!

I cover things like getting more confidence and building self-esteem, getting through hard times, how to build a kick-ass team of friends who really support you (and who you support back), and stacks more. I’ve also included some of my favourite strategies for getting your mindset and attitude right and shifting how you see challenges.

It’s like a letter to my 16 year old self, on steroids. (Don’t worry, that’s just a phrase, ok? I won’t tell your kids to get on the ‘roids!)

If you want to check out Good Selfie now, click this link.