brave

Aristotle defined brave as halfway between cowardice and recklessness. According to Aristotle, bravery involves confronting and enduring fears,  in a rational and controlled manner. True bravery requires understanding the nature of the fear and managing it appropriately.

In other words, feeling brave isn’t the same as being fearless.  Being brave means that you are going to attempt something that you still fear – but you are going to try and do it anyway. Keep in mind, however, it is not about attempting that is unsafe and that is going to hurt you. 

How to explain BRAVE  to children

“Sometimes there might be something that you are a bit scared  or nervous to do.  When you are brave, you decide to do that thing (but first you have to know that it’s not going to hurt you/that it is safe.)  you are deciding to be brave, you might still feel scared at the same time. Your heart might be thumping hard inside. Or your breathing might be fast.  It is a good idea to try and take some slow, calm breaths . This can make the feeling of being brave become bigger than the feeling of being scared.” 

Then you might give some examples that the child can relate to. 

Time to imagine.  Here, Coco is climbing up a very very tall tree to save a baby koala. All the other koalas are too scared to climb so high.  Coco is scared too – but is a good climber and the baby koala needs to be saved.  Coco decides to be brave and climb the tree. 

As Coco climbs, Coco’s paws are shaking.  What could Coco do to try and calm down? 

Relate it to the child

  When have you felt brave?    Can you draw a picture of this situation. 

Language to explore

 *Bold      *Courageous    *Gutsy 

The following phrases and idioms might also be discussed with older children: 

 *Pluck up the courage      *Nerves of steel         *Bold as brass 

This week

Think of something that you can try and be brave about .