During times of stress and when normal family life seems to be turned upside down, it may be helpful to turn to how experts identify the multiple ways that families are resilient. Broadly speaking, family resilience is the capacity of the family to adapt to challenging situations in the face of adversity. It is not necessarily a trait of any individual in the family, like being optimistic under stressful circumstances, but is the coordinated efforts of family members to draw upon resources (both material and psychological) to aid in building capacity for resilience.
These briefs offer resources for families that can be used to reinforce existing coping strategies as well as new ideas to face challenging circumstances.
Family Routines – Access the brief FRC Building Blocks of Resilience – Routines.
Maintaining regular routines provides a sense of order to daily life. It lets everyone know when the day begins, what activities will occur when and where, and what role everyone is expected to play. There are at least three family routines to maintain: bedtime and sleep, mealtime, and physical activity.