Colman Noctor: When we need to use tough love with our children 

Sometimes a degree of discomfort needs to be tolerated for progress to occur

"I don’t believe that adversity creates resilience. Instead, our level of resilience determines how we respond to adversity."

I often struggle to articulate the notion of tough love. Similar to ‘the school of hard knocks’ or ‘the laboratory of life’, tough love suggests we must learn the hard way to foster resilience.

There is some truth in the belief that children have to experience a degree of disappointment or adversity to help them mature. But I don’t believe that adversity creates resilience. Instead, our level of resilience determines how we respond to adversity.