Wellbeing
Building Resilience
Resilience is a key skill that helps young people manage challenges, cope with stress and recover from setbacks. During adolescence, students face increasing academic demands, social changes and expectations for independence. While it can be tempting to remove obstacles for our children, learning to work through difficulty — with support — is what builds long-term resilience.
Resilient students are not those who never struggle, but those who believe they can cope when things are hard. Parents play an important role by providing emotional safety, modelling healthy coping strategies and allowing young people to experience manageable challenges. Over time, this helps students develop confidence, perseverance and problem-solving skills that extend beyond school.
What parents can do:
- When your child is upset, acknowledge feelings first (“That sounds really hard”) before jumping to solutions
- Share examples of times you’ve faced challenges and how you coped
- Encourage problem-solving by asking “What do you think might help?”
- Keep routines consistent (sleep, meals, school attendance) during stressful times
What students can do:
- Break big problems into smaller, achievable steps
- Write down one thing that is within their control
- Reflect on a past challenge they managed successfully
- Ask a trusted adult for help before stress becomes overwhelming
Learn more:
- https://parentingideas.com.au/parents/resilience/#post-list
- Student Resilience and Wellbeing Resources (Australian Government) — strategies for building resilience in students → https://www.education.gov.au/student-resilience-and-wellbeing/student-resilience-and-wellbeing-resourcesDepartment of Education
Headspace Newsletter
Headspace have released their first Community Newsletter for 2026, with a quick snapshot of their current intake timeframes, workshop offerings, free family sessions, and how they’re supporting young people following the Bondi terror attack.
Their wait times are currently low, and the intake team aims to respond to all referrals within two business days. Young people and families are also welcome to self-refer directly by phone or email.
- headspace Elsternwick | (03) 9076 7500 | headspaceelsternwick@alfred.org.au
- headspace Bentleigh | (03) 9076 9400 | headspacebentleigh@alfred.org.au
They’re also open for school bookings and always happy to tailor sessions to suit your needs – if you’d like to chat about how they can support, just contact headspace via the details above and they will find a time that suits you.
