Today's children face a great deal of stress -- academic performance, heavy scheduling, high achievement standards, media messages, peer pressure, family tension. Without healthier solutions, they often cope by talking back, giving up, or indulging in unhealthy behaviors. This plan for resilience can help kids from 18 months to 18 years build the 7 Crucial Cs needed to bounce back from challenges and manage stress -- competence, confidence, connection, character, contribution, coping, and control. In these pages, you'll find strategies to help children and teens make wise decisions, recognize and build on their natural strengths, deal effectively with stress, foster hope and optimism, develop skills to navigate a complex world, avoid risky behaviors, and take care of their emotions and their bodies. This book also includes chapters on perfectionism, the negative portrayal of teens and how it biases parents and damages you, special resilience strategies for military families, community-based resilience building, and when parents' resilience has reached its limits.
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