Resilience & Frustration Tolerance

Persisting through difficulty, recovering from setbacks, and tolerating discomfort without giving up.

Examples & Achievements

  • Continues trying after a first failed attempt
  • Rebuilds a structure after it falls down
  • Accepts losing a game without prolonged crying or anger
  • Adapts when a desired activity is unavailable
  • Handles minor physical discomfort (small scrape) with composure

How to Measure

  • Makes 2+ attempts at a challenging task before requesting help
  • Recovers from losing a game within 2-3 minutes
  • Devereux Early Childhood Assessment (DECA-2) - Resilience scale
  • Teacher report of persistence during challenging tasks
Sources (4)
  • CASEL
  • HighScope
  • NAEYC
  • Waldorf

8 Exercises

"Try Three Ways" Challenge Basket Tumble Towers (Build It, Crash It, Build It Again) Win Some, Lose Some Plan B Detectives Brave-Body Challenges (Little Bumps, Big Calm) My "Not-Yet" Skill Beautiful Oops! (Mistake Magic) The Learning Pit & Brave Self-Talk