The Resilience Project

🌟 Connected Parenting with Lael Stone: A Thoughtful Approach

In this week’s Connected Parenting webinar, Lael Stone shared valuable insights into raising children with compassion, awareness, and connection. She opened the session with a powerful reminder: there is no such thing as the perfect parent. Every parent is doing the best they can with the tools they have—and that’s more than enough.

Lael encouraged families to take in parenting advice through their own personal lens, asking, “Does this resonate with me?” Rather than following one-size-fits-all strategies, she reminded us that parents are the true experts on their own children. What works for one family may not work for another, and that’s perfectly okay.

A key theme of the webinar was resilience. While adults often recognise that life’s hardest moments lead to some of our greatest growth, children are still learning this. Whether it’s not being picked for the basketball team or feeling left out by friends, these moments can feel huge. But they are also opportunities for children to learn, adapt, and develop emotional strength.

Lael shared a favourite quote by psychologist Susan David:

“Discomfort is the price of admission to a meaningful life.”

She explained that discomfort is often where growth begins. And as parents—because we love our children so deeply—we naturally want to protect them from pain. But shielding them from every difficult moment can take away important opportunities for learning. Supporting our children through challenges, rather than avoiding them, helps them build the resilience they need to thrive.

🛠 Tools for Building Resilience

To close the webinar, Lael offered practical guidance for both parents and children:

• Be the calm anchor in the storm. Your steadiness gives your child a sense of safety and trust, even in emotional moments.
• Take a breath. Before reacting, pause and ground yourself. Emotional regulation starts with us.
• Create space for feelings. Let your child know it’s okay to feel sad, angry, or frustrated—those feelings are normal and manageable.
• Remember: It is never a child’s job to be emotionally responsible for us. As adults, it's up to us to model emotional maturity and guide our children with empathy.

The overarching message was clear and empowering: trust yourself, connect with your child, and support them—through the good and the tough—as they grow into capable, resilient human beings.

Webinar Recording:

👉Recording

Please note: The recording will be available until 12th June, so we encourage you to watch it before then.