Kids who develop resilience
The Story Behind Kid President
In 2013, Kid President took the world by storm. Over a million views on just his first video.
Why? What made him so engaging?
Well, he was funny, energetic, loved to dance AND had a good message.
He encouragds teachers to look for the awesome in students and he encouraged students to be awesome and change the world.
You can’t find a better message than that.
Even more interesting was the story behind the videos. This bubbly, energetic, laughing kid had overcome some adversity in his own life.
Just listen to the story:
At the time of this video, he had already experienced over 70 breaks. His brother-in-law, Brad decided to make videos of Robby because of his “resilient spirit”.
What Makes a Child Resilient?
In his book, Building Resilience in Children and Teens: Giving Kids Roots and Wings, Kenneth Ginsburg identifies the Seven C’s of Resiliency. They are:
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Competence-Help children recognize their strengths and maximize them
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Confidence-Encourage children to be confident and recover from challenges
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Connections-Help children develop relationships with family, schools and community is critical to a sense of belonging
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Character-Help children develop a clear sense of right and wrong and a commitment to integrity
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Contribution-Encourage children to contribute to the well-being of others and to be a positive impact on the world
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Coping-Encourage children to develop a variety of healthy coping strategies
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Control-Learn to make wise choices, earn privileges and respect in order to feel a sense of control
Not every child faces the kind of medical challenges that Robby, the Kid President faced, but every children could benefit from developing the seven C’s. Certainly challenges come in all shapes and sizes and it is a rare individual who does not need to develop some coping skills for getting through the problems in life.
Wonder what happened to Kid President? The answer:
Wyatt the Wonder Dog Learns about Teamwork
Camping with his Boy Scout Troop is exciting and fun… until Max takes a serious fall while hiking. When Wyatt and the rest of the Scouts use their emergency training to get Max safely out of the woods, they learn the value of teamwork and the power of community to achieve big goals.
Wyatt the Wonder Dog Learns about Teamwork is another great example of helping kids improve their social skills. It teaches kids the power of working together and how much better we are when we work as a community.
~Melissa Toren Hrin, Professional School Counselor, Beverly Cleary School, Portland, OR
