Ask Your Kids: "What Adult Would You Call if You Needed Help?"

Resilient kids have strong support systems. They are surrounded with people who bring out the best in them, and they have people cheering them on, supporting them, and helping them when times get tough.

This includes peers, of course, but it also includes adults.

To that end, help your children identify one (or even a few) safe adults whom they can turn to if they need adult guidance.

Of course, we want to believe that our children will come to us when they need help, but at times, they might be embarrassed or afraid to talk to their parents about certain problems.

Oftentimes, though, these problems are the ones that would best be solved with guidance from an adult.

So who can your children turn to if they need adult guidance, and they don't want to talk to you?

Start a conversation with your children and help them identify these people, which might include teachers, your friends, or other family members.

Give them permission to reach out to someone other than you who can help keep them safe and provide them with good information and advice you know would be in alignment with your values and life philosophy.

Identifying these people upfront, before your children are in a situation where they could benefit from the help of an adult, will help your children make better decisions in the heat of the moment. When they know they can call Aunt Lisa or Uncle Stephen at any time of day, no matter what, they can make decisions that help keep them safe.