Everyday Resilience

Everyday Resilience by Michelle Mitchell (Big Sky Publishing) PB RRP $24.99 ISBN 9781922265029

Reviewed by Dianne Bates

Sub-titled ‘Helping Kids handle friendship drama, academic pressure, and the self-doubt of growing up’, this book is clearly targeted at parents, carers and others who work with children. The author has the expertise to help: not only is she the mother of teenagers, but she left teaching in 2000 to found Youth Excel, a charity which supports thousands of young people with life skills’ education, mentoring and psychological services.

Mitchell shows readers how they can cultivate resilience in young people by focusing on seven key traits – courage, gratitude, empathy, self-awareness, responsibility, self-care and contribution to the community. All the problems that young people face in today’s fast-paced world seem to be addressed.

Despite the posters on our schools’ walls and the endless research on resilience, there has been a significant rise in mental illness in teenagers over the past five years. For many of our young ones, resilience is much easier to talk about than put into practise. 

In this book Michelle shows every family how they can cultivate resilience in their children or adolescents by focusing on 7 key traits - courage, gratitude, empathy, self-awareness, responsibility, self-care and contribution. She answers questions like: How can I help my child be more confident? What do I say when my child is rejected by friends? How do I help a child who is struggling academically? What do I say when my child says, "I can't"? How do I help an anxious or shy child find their voice? What can I do to help them discover their potential?

This is a practical book which will certainly be helpful for those who work with children and who want to help promote mental well-being.