The Story Behind Kid President and his Resilient Spirit

The Kid President is taking the world by storm! Over a million views on just the one video above.  Why?  What makes him so engaging?  Well, he's funny, energetic, loves to dance AND has a good message.  The above video encourages teachers to look for the awesome in students and students to be awesome and change the world.

What is the Story behind the Videos?

Even more interesting is the story behind the videos.  The bubbly, energetic, laughing kid in Kid President has overcome some adversity in his own life.  Just listen to the story:

 

 

 

As he explains in the video, Robby has osteogenesis imperfecta, a genetic condition that results in frequent broken bones.  He has already experienced over 70 breaks.  His brother-in-law, Brad decided to make videos of  Robby because of his "resilent spirit".  What is their goal?  Not fame or fortune but to make the world a better place by dreaming big and encouraging others to be awesome.  You can't live by a better mission than that!

 

What Makes a Child Resilient?

In his book, Building Resilience in Children and Teens: Giving Kids Roots and Wings, Kenneth Ginsburg identifies the Seven C's of Resiliency.  They are:

• Competence-Help children recognize their strengths and maximize them
• Confidence-Encourage children to be confident and recover from challenges
• Connections-Help children develop relationships with family, schools and community is critical to a sense of belonging
• Character-Help children develop a clear sense of right and wrong and a committment to integrity
• Contribution-Encourage children to contribute to the well-being of others and to be a positive impact on the world
• Coping-Encourage children to develop a variety of healthy coping strategies
• Control-Learn to make wise choices, earn privileges and respect in order to feel a sense of control

Not every child faces the kind of medical challenges that Robby, the Kid President faces, but every children could benefit from developing the seven C's. Certainly challenges come in all shapes and sizes and it is a rare individual who does not need to develop some coping skills for getting through the problems in life.  Not only is the Kid President an inspiration through his quirky, funny youtube messages.  He is also an inspiration in a life well-lived that illustrates the Seven C's through his positive attitude and confident spirit. 

 

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