05/02/2026
Play builds resilience — but not in the way we often expect.
When children play, they are not just “having fun.”
They are constantly navigating uncertainty.
The rules change.
The tower falls.
A friend disagrees.
The game doesn’t go as planned.
And in those moments, children practise:
• Flexible thinking
• Emotional regulation
• Problem-solving
• Recovery after disappointment
✨ This is resilience in its natural form.
Now compare this with artificially created resilience scenarios.
These often look like:
• Adult-designed challenges with a “right” outcome
• Controlled exposure to frustration
• Scripted coping strategies taught in advance
• Praise for “handling it well” according to adult expectations
While well-intentioned, these scenarios:
• Limit genuine uncertainty
• Reduce the child’s ownership of the experience
• Focus on performance rather than adaptation
• Teach coping about resilience rather than living it
🌱 Play works differently.
In play:
• The challenge is real to the child
• The motivation is intrinsic
• The emotional stakes are authentic
• The child experiments, fails, adjusts, and tries again
No script.
No checklist.
No pressure to “get it right.”
Resilience grows not from practising calm in controlled moments,
but from recovering inside meaningful, emotionally rich experiences — again and again.
As adults, our role is not to manufacture resilience,
but to protect space for play,
join when invited,
and guide without taking over.
Because resilience isn’t taught.
It’s developed — one playful moment at a time.
