Resilience is the character trait that sees us through tough times. It’s the strength that picks us up when life knocks us down, helps us survive failures.  Resilience keeps us from falling apart when we face stress and helps us steer our lives back to more stable shores. Resilience helps us pick up the pieces and make something positive happen.

Parents intensely love their children and want them to have a secure future. Resilience will be a key character trait. It’s also one of the hardest traits for parents to let their children develop because it involves letting children learn from failure and handle the consequences of their own actions. It’s a process of learning to let go of your child as he or she matures. Dr. Kenneth Ginsburg, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, author of the book A Parent's Guide to Building Resilience in Children and Teens, outlines in detail how parents can avoid the pitfalls of “helicopter parenting.”  Parents who hover or intervene in their chilren’s lives when they really should stay in the background are not letting their children develop a sense of competancy, that they have the skills to handle life’s difficulties. When safety is the issue parents have to intervene. Parents of preschoolers must help their children in ways that parents of older kids should not. But building a sense of resilience starts in toddlerhood.

Say Yes to No gives parents the tools and skills to avoid “helicopter parenting” and build resilience in their child.