Resilience Reflection #21: Resilience begins at home

In this week's issue of  Resilience Reflections ,  Carmen Schoemaker shares her experience in raising little kids to be resilient on their bikes in the crowded Dutch streets. She makes a case for beginning at an early age and for giving the right green example as a parent. Resilience starts with individuals, and it starts small. In this regular series by the  Resilience@UT  and  4TU Resilience  programmes, UT researchers share their personal reflections on current events and trends that impact our daily lives, exploring their implications for resilience. The series is just one of many UT initiatives responding to the urgent need to respond to rapid societal and environmental change. As an academic institution, we have a role to play in strengthening the resilience of the social, technological and environmental systems that support us. The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own. Resilience begins at home. This morning, I started my daily adventure of dropping off my kids at school. The schoolyard was buzzing with parents seeing their kids off, managing the morning rush, and chatting with other parents. The streets and parking lots were overflowing with cars, some parked, others trying to manoeuvre their way through the daily congestion. While attempting to navigate the labyrinth of streets and cars, a sense of agitation welled up within me, as I struggled with the challenge of safely reaching the main road, also congested with dangerous traffic jams in both directions. Are all these cars necessary?