I hear quite a lot "children are resilient", yet most adults are screwed up (or in some type of therapy) because of their childhood.
Are children resilient or is that what just parents like to tell themselves?…
I agree that kids are not resilient at all. It's something I think people like to believe is true so they themselves can move forward with their child while thinking nothing bad that happens sticks.
Brain and emotional hard wiring occurs in the formative years. Kids that are physically or emotionally abused tend to grow up with a fear complex.
Kids that were born to single mom's who had men in and out of the house and in contact with the child tend to grow up with abandonment and trust issues.
It's like this little circuit board in the brain and emotional center of the child. Their thoughts, sense of self, and emotions, all get wired to the at present moment of negative experience. And then that wire grows exponentially as the child grows older. Their future self as an adult will link the personal social issues they have to what happened to them in the past. They don't even have to recall the event.
My brother is three years my senior. He has a horrible fear of heights due to almost falling over the edge of a cliff as toddler. We , he and I, never knew where that came from until a few years ago when the folks were going over old pictures of the camping trips they took prior to my arrival.
It's like they say, kids are impressionable. A hard life can leave a life long impression.
We were blessed compared to some of our friends growing up.