Coping with failure and rejection is part of life, we all suffer from knock-backs from time to time and that's why it's crucial to teach a child to be resilient.

Many children who lack resilience are brought up with over protected parenting, a child who is discouraged from taking the safest of risk will be robbed of the opportunity to develop vital problem solving and coping skills which are necessary for building up resilience.

Resilient kids get straight back up again after disappointment and rejection in the playground doesn't faze them. They are flexible enough to deal with changes and work consistently hard at school even if they don't succeed at first. Unfortunately, not every child has this natural resilience.

The good news is resilience can be nurtured and developed. Resilient kids share four basic skills: independence, problem solving, optimism and social connection.

Parents can promote a lasting sense of resilience by guiding kids through some of their more challenging times and look out for 'teachable moments', many learning problems are disguised as learning opportunities. Having a positive attitude yourself impacts on their ability to bounce back from difficulties. Making kids an active participant in the family develops self help, problem solving and independence skills and to help them cope when things don't always go their way, be supportive and positive. Also resist getting involved in playground disputes, arm them with the skills to sort them out themselves.

Promoting resilience in kids is a continuous process and parents need to view the difficulties and hardships as valuable learning opportunities rather than something disastrous that will scar them for life.

Visit www.parentingideas.co.uk for more information on parenting skills.