30 Resilience Quotes and Phrases for Kids

Encouraging resilience in kids can help them develop lifelong skills for overcoming any obstacle. With the right tools and advice, you can help your children build up their resilience so that they can thrive in life, no matter what challenges come their way.

At the beginning of my parenting journey I unknowingly passed by hundreds of opportunities for me and my kids to develop resilience.

When my kids were younger I made the mistake of thinking that my job was to make everything easy or comfortable for my kids. I often offered help in the name of keeping things calm instead of allowing my kids to face frustration and experience finding their own solution.

Why Does Building Resilience Matter?

Resilience is the ability to recover from adversity, to pick oneself up after a fall. We all face setbacks in life, and it’s important to have the strength to overcome them. Our job as parents isn’t to make our kids happy all the time. Our job is to prepare them for living fulfilling lives and we need resilience to face the daily challenges we’re bound to meet. 

Both adults and children can develop resilience, this ability to bounce back from adversity.

Each time we support our child through doing something on their own we help them build resilience and increase their own competence and capability bank.

Often I struggle with how much longer this takes, but I am reminding myself that when I shortcut by doing something for my kids that they could manage on their own, it’s not a true shortcut.  It only leaves something they will need to practice later.

10 Phrases to Help Kids Develop Resilience

The first step to encouraging resilience is to allow kids to attempt problem solving without rescuing them from their frustration right away. It’s helpful to have a few phrases ready to support them for the next time your child is struggling.

Read through, try a few of these and perhaps come up with some of your own ideas to try as well. Practice saying these phrases in a neutral tone of voice to avoid sounding sarcastic.

Also, I generally recommend waiting for a short time before you say anything – we all need a moment to think sometimes when facing a challenge.

1. How will you handle that?
2. Would you like to practice your response with me ahead of time?
3. How can you take care of that?
4. How do you feel about that?
5. What do you think you should do about that?
6. I have faith in you. I’m sure you can handle it.
7. Wow, that sounds challenging.
8. It looks like you’re working really hard on that.
9. Go as far as you can, let’s see where you get stuck.
10. Do as much as you can and I’ll help with the parts you can’t do on your own.

Resilience Quotes For Kids

• “Challenges are gifts that force us to search for a new center of gravity. Don’t fight them. Just find a new way to stand.” – Oprah Winfrey
• “Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire.” – Oprah Winfrey
• “You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.”– Maya Angelou
• “You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ – Eleanor Roosevelt
• “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” – Harriet Tubman
• “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” – Alice Walker
• “I do not think there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature.” – John D. Rockefeller
• “Feeling good is all fine and good, but it’s fleeting. Learning to deal with difficulty, by contrast, improves your chances of feeling good again.” – Ephrat Livni
• “The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.” – Molière
• “The human capacity for burden is like bamboo — far more flexible than you’d ever believe at first glance.” – Jodi Picoult, My Sister’s Keeper
• “Persistence and resilience only come from having been given the chance to work through difficult problems.” – Gever Tulley
• “Do not judge me by my success, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.” – Nelson Mandela
• “We gain strength and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face… we must do that which we think we cannot.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
• “All things are difficult before they are easy.” – Thomas Fuller
• “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” – Arthur Ashe

• “Remember that failure is an event, not a person.” – Zig Ziglar

• “Resilience isn’t a single skill. It’s a variety of skills and coping mechanisms. To bounce back from bumps in the road as well as failures, you should focus on emphasizing the positive.” – Jean Chatzky

• “Oops you made a mistake, and you’re beautiful to me!” – Scott Grace

Does resilience impact a child’s mental health?

Resilience is beneficial for a child’s mental health because it allows them to cope with stress and setbacks. A resilient child has the ability to adapt to difficult circumstances and learn from their experiences. This can help them develop stronger coping skills and increase their emotional stability. Resilience also teaches children how to manage their emotions, which can be beneficial in the long run.

The truth is resilience becomes one of many coping mechanisms our children rely upon when they become adults. Knowing that they can process through challenges allows them to have a positive outlook as move through the problem.

How does helping my kids develop resilience help me bounce back too?

As parents, it’s our job to teach kids how to problem solve and face challenges, however, this can cause a lot of discomfort. We have to be resilient to handle watching our kids struggle – it might feel bad in the moment, but it’s helping them gain the skills they need for a successful life.

This can be particularly hard if you’re already an anxious person; it feels awful to allow your child to experience adversity because you know how bad you’d feel in the same situation. The idea of putting your child through that pain might seem unbearable. Unfortunately, if we try to protect our kids from all uncomfortable situations, they don’t get the chance to practice handling those situations, which they will eventually meet no matter what.

In order to help them build resilience, we have to grow our own capacity for resilience and learn to tolerate the discomfort of watching them struggle.

Encouraging resilience sets your child up for a more fulfilling life.

All through life we deal with the frustration of being a beginner, learning new things, or handling unexpected changes. Even though is might feel uncomfortable, allowing your child to experience and move through that frustration builds their resilience. We can give help with tasks kids can’t do on their own, and guide them towards independence as they learn to do these things for themselves.

What phrases would you like to say when your child is struggling with a challenge? Planning ahead for how you’ll react to their struggle will allow you to be more calm in the moment.

More Resources for Helping Kids Develop Resilience:

• 25 Everyday Activities to Teach Resilience
• Resilience Building Activities for Parents and Kids