Building Resilience Through Lessons in Parenthood

Growing up in Iowa, I remember marveling at the big maple trees in our backyard. I would gather in the backyard with my neighborhood friends to run and jump in giant piles of crackly brown leaves.

Recently, I watched our daughter and son experience their own little wormhole in time in a game of cat-and-mouse behind our house. Our son cruised nonchalantly on his green tractor as our daughter, still new to walking, tried to catch him with her “lawnmower.”

It was noticeably hot and buggy that evening, and the ground wasn’t exactly soft or even where they played, but they could’ve cared less – about this or, frankly, anything besides each other.

What We Can Learn from Our Children About Mindfulness

Parents often ask: “How can we teach mindfulness to our children?”

No doubt a rich question, but I wonder if the inverse question is just as important: What can parents learn about mindfulness from their children?

On the one hand, children, in their slow-moving, relentlessly curious, sometimes shockingly impulsive ways, can liberate parents from the seriously-busy – and seriously-serious – mode of daily life.

Consider for a moment if your child has ever:

• Pointed out something cool in the environment you wouldn’t have noticed on your own.
• Lost himself in a seemingly mundane activity for what seemed like hours, as you sat back watching in amazement.
• Said or did something that made you laugh out loud, and completely shifted your energy.

Jon Kabat-Zinn refers to children as “live-in Zen Masters,” and for good reason. But you and I both know that children don’t always deliver their teachings in such welcoming ways.

They also seem to have a knack for pushing buttons (at impeccable times) and persistently magnifying limitations.

For example, has your child ever taken his sweet time getting ready for school when you were tired and low on patience? Or, scoffed at what you made for dinner when you felt vulnerable and were in need of a little appreciation?

For all of these reasons, and then some, I’ve come to think of raising children as an ultimate resilience-building opportunity.

You Can’t Stop the Waves, But You Can Learn to Surf

In her research at Columbia University on the transition to motherhood, Aurelie Athan says, “Raising vulnerable others (animals and aging parents included) unwittingly teaches us about the core tenets of the world wisdom traditions like mindfulness, compassion, patience…”

These inner strengths make-up the backbone of resilience, and, when exercised, lead to numerous physical and psychological health benefits.

The good news is, through parenthood, you’ll get one opportunity after another to exercise these strengths.

The not so good news: You don’t get to decide when and how these lessons are delivered.

Let’s peek at a few examples.

• Patience: A child learns over time – and in a non-linear way.  Most learning, whether it’s getting dressed in the morning or solving a math equation, takes more time and patience than busy parents have, considering everything else on their plate. Even when it doesn’t look clean or perfect on the outside, your capacity for patience is stretching and growing.
• Tolerating uncertainty: You’ll repeatedly bump into new – and recurring – challenges. Why are the kids still fighting? Why is he acting careless on the soccer field all of a sudden? Many of the problems you’ll face can’t be solved with a quick solution. No doubt it can be wearing to wait things out, but it’s also a prime time to learn helpful ways to deal with fear and anxiety.
• Forgiveness: Your child will make mistakes, and so will you. Giving yourself grace, making peace with imperfect, finding forgiveness for yourself and others – all, of course, in your own time and way, is rich work on every parent’s journey.
• Trust: With so much external noise and distraction, it’s not easy to hear the wise, intuitive voice that lives inside. But, the invitation to lean-in and listen, to find your own voice – and way – as a parent, will present itself over and over again, getting lots of repetition and gaining tremendous strength.
• Letting go: Have you ever set out to do something, and then, boom, plans change? Whether the kids got sick or pitched a fit, you’re continually re-routing. Like it or not, letting go, starting over, and changing things on-the-fly are such heavily exercised muscles that they eventually become second nature.
• Acceptance: Parenthood is messy. Heartache, exhaustion, and uncertainty are lifelong companions on this journey. Expecting it to be easy, or enjoyable, all the time ultimately makes it harder to be the parent you want to be. Finding your way to acceptance, of the many things you can’t change, may bring you great relief.
• Humility: Somewhere along the way parents got the idea that they should have all the answers simply because they’re the older, more responsible person in the relationship. But I see parenthood as a standing invitation to practice humility. To say I don’t know. To be willing to learn alongside – and from – children. And maybe, most importantly, to develop more comfort with allowing others to support you.

Looking at this list of strengths your children continually test, you might wonder what in the world you signed up for!? The nice thing is, it’s not for nothing. As you learn and grow these inner strengths, your children can’t help but do the same.

Raising happy, healthy, capable children is far less about parenting the right way, and far more about how you live your life.

May parenthood, in all its joys and messiness, inspire you on path to greater resilience and well-being.

Lead by Example

Our children are sponges, absorbing everything they see. Learn how you can bring mindfulness and the skills used to build mental resilience into your home. Check out 7 Days of Mindful Parenting and 7 Days of Mindful Parenting – Part 2 on-demand today.

Written by Breon Michel, eM Life Instructor