Movies and Shows to Teach Resilience:
Middle School- Facing the Giants
- Finding Forrester
- Greatest Showman
- The 33
- The Florida Project
- The Rescue
High School- 127 Hours
- Atypical
- Creed
- Penguin Bloom
- Rabbit-Proof Fence
- When They See Us
Books to Teach Resilience:
Middle School- El Deafo
- Fish in a Tree
- Sorta Like a Rock Star
- The Boy who Harnessed the Wind
- The Dot
- The Hunger Games
High School- A Long Walk to Water
- Fast Talk on a Slow Track
- Hatchet
- Of Human Bondage
- The Rules of Survival
- Whirligig
Parents and caregivers would do well to prioritize resilience building by helping teens reframe any online (or offline!) adversity they face in a more positive light, and by enlisting the use of media to provide relatable stories of overcomers whose attitudes, actions, and lives can be emulated. Doing so will equip them to take control of their online experiences, and better protect themselves from harm. In addition, cultivating resilience in these ways will bolster your child’s self-confidence, problem-solving ability, autonomy, and sense of purpose – all of which are critical for healthy youth development.
1 Henderson, N., & Milstein, M. M. (2003). Resiliency in schools: Making it happen for students and educators.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications (Corwin Press)
2 Hinduja, S. & Patchin, J. W. (2017). Cultivating Youth Resilience to Prevent Bullying and Cyberbullying Victimization. Child Abuse & Neglect, 73, 51-62.
3 Based on Albert Ellis’s ABC (Adversity, Beliefs, and Consequences) Model. Please see Ellis, A. (1991). The revised ABC's of rational-emotive therapy (RET). Journal of Rational-Emotive and Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 9(3), 139-172.