What Makes Kids Mentally Strong?

Mentally strong kids are confident in their own worth and value and are not as easily swayed by peer pressure, hard circumstances, or failures. Instead of succumbing to negative thoughts, mentally strong kids are resilient and able to see the big picture of what really matters.

Raising mentally strong kids can seem daunting. Different personalities, our own insecurities, and a hard comparison culture are all obstacles to raising our kids to be confident. But here are some things you can use to start this journey and encourage your kids to become the best version of themselves:

Develop and Model Inner Confidence

Confidence is not arrogance or cockiness. It is a healthy view of one’s own worth, no matter the circumstances. Helping your child value things that really matter (like personal effort, integrity, attitude, and perspective) can help them become mentally stronger and more resilient in the face of hard situations.

You as a parent are the best model of this! Choosing how you praise your child and modeling your own thought processes can help build this inner confidence to make them mentally strong.

Freedom to Fail (and Try Again)

Does your child see failure as the end-all be-all, or feel ashamed when the outcome isn’t what they hoped? If your child struggles to bounce back from failures, their capacity to branch out and try new things in life is going to be smaller.

So many of the most important lessons in life are learned through trial and error! Help your kids get used to the discomfort of failures so they don’t absolutely crush their spirits when it inevitably happens. Frame these moments as learning experiences, not shameful inadequacies, so your child can learn to do this for themselves, too!

Ability to Laugh at Themselves

Can your child take a step back and laugh at themselves? Mentally strong kids are not going to be as swayed by insecurity. Instead, having the mental strength to see things from other perspectives, laugh off quirks and little setbacks, and keep moving forward will serve your child well into adulthood!

Strong Work Ethic

Mentally strong kids know that anything worth doing takes hard work (one of our major life lessons here at LearningRx!). These kids value effort over outcomes and are willing to put in the effort on a regular basis. Kids need to see that we don’t have control of every situation. We can’t determine outcomes every time. But what we CAN control is our own attitude, effort, and resilience (willingness to keep trying). 

Modeling this and growing this in your child will help set them up to be ready for whatever “work” they are dealing with in their life right now, whether that is school, sports, family responsibilities, or a job.

Empathy and a Sense of Community

As one source puts it, “Self-esteem grows when kids get to see that what they do matters to others.”

Getting your child to learn to love helping, giving, and being kind will grow their self-esteem in balance with other positive character qualities that we want our children to embody. 

This view outside of themselves also translates to the ability to celebrate other people’s successes, identify with others’ feelings, and know appropriate responses to various situations.

Mentally strong kids can name their place in their community, own it, and share the load with others around them.

Strong Cognitive Skills

Is your child’s brain able to process the world around them? Can they problem-solve, organize thoughts, quickly come up with solutions, and engage in meaningful conversations? If any of these areas are weak points, weak cognitive skills may be the reason.

Cognitive skills like attention, memory, logic & reasoning, auditory processing, and processing speed govern more than just learning in the classroom. The strength of these skills impacts ALL areas of life! 

Giving your child’s brain skills a boost is a sure way to improve their confidence, willingness to try hard things, and ability to function independently in their world. In fact, virtually every client who leaves our center reports better confidence as one of their biggest takeaways!*

Mentally strong kids are ready to take on the world. If you’re thinking your child needs an extra boost, give us a call today. We can help you identify weak points and target those so they can be the best version of themselves!

*These are reports and results from past clients. We cannot guarantee these outcomes in every situation, but we’d be happy to talk with you about your goals and how we can help you meet them!