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Hey there! If you’ve noticed in my last blog posts for a while now I have been concentrating more on kids and parenting/childcare resources. This is one of the topics near and dear to me and I wanted to start focusing more on that…With that said I hope you find these posts helpful! Today we will cover all about how to focus on growth mindset for kids.
A growth mindset is an idea that you can change your intelligence through effort, practice, persistence and training. You’ll learn what a growth mindset is, why it matters and how to teach it to your child.
What is the definition of growth mindset?
In short, a growth mindset is the idea that you can grow your mind, thoughts, feelings, actions through effort, practice and persistence. It’s a belief that you can change your life by changing your mindset!
With this in mind, it’s important to teach kids that they have the power to shape their future by changing their habits today and give them the tools to do so.
Why your mindset matters:
Your mindset is like a filter through which you see the world. It impacts your performance, motivation and happiness.
A growth mindset believes that intelligence can be developed over time through effort and practice.
This means that kids with a growth mindset will try harder in school, persist longer when they’re struggling with something new and take on challenges with confidence. All because they know they can do it if they put in enough effort.
A fixed mindset believes that intelligence is fixed at birth – some people are born smart while others aren’t (or so goes this theory). Or that once you think or are a certain way you can’t change it.
If you believe this then it makes sense to avoid challenges or difficult tasks because there’s no point trying if you already know how badly things will turn out for you!
How to teach a growth mindset to your child:
The research on growth mindset has shown that it’s possible to change your mindset and shift from a fixed to a growth mindset. It also shows that this can be done in adults, but it’s easier for children because they haven’t yet formed their own beliefs about intelligence and ability.
You can teach your child how to adopt a growth mindset by:
- encouraging them to be solution-oriented instead of problem-focused (e.g., when they have trouble with something, ask them what could help solve the problem instead of focusing on why they’re having so much trouble)
- teaching them that mistakes are learning opportunities (e.g., “What did you learn from making this mistake?”)
- encouraging them set small goals and celebrate themselves when they achieve those goals
1. Help kids understand that failure isn’t the end.
The first step in helping your child develop a growth mindset is to help them understand that failure isn’t the end.
In fact, it’s an opportunity to learn and grow. This can be done by emphasizing these key points:
- Failure is not permanent. It’s temporary and can be overcome with effort and perseverance.
- You are not your grades or achievements; they don’t define who you are as a person anymore than being poor defines someone as lazy or unintelligent (or vice versa).
- Grades don’t measure intelligence; they measure how well students have learned what was taught at school during that time period–and even then there are many factors involved in how well students perform on tests besides their innate ability (for example: how much did teachers explain things thoroughly?)
2. Teach them to be solution-oriented instead of problem-focused.
Teaching kids to be solution-oriented can help them develop a growth mindset. When you focus on the problem instead of the solution, it’s easy to get stuck in a negative cycle where you feel like there is nothing you can do about your situation.
Solution-focused thinking is more helpful than problem-focused thinking because it allows your child to see what they need to do differently next time instead of dwelling on how they failed this time around. For example:
- Problem-focused thinking: “I failed the test, I’m a bad student.”
- Solution-oriented thinking: “I failed the test but now I know how I can study harder next time so that I’ll do better on future tests.”
3. Help them view mistakes as learning opportunities.
When your child makes a mistake, don’t just tell them to be more careful next time. Instead, try to teach them how to learn from their mistakes and become solution-oriented.
For example:
- If your child accidentally spills juice on the carpet, don’t say “We need to be careful!” Instead say something like. “What did we learn from this?” or “How could we fix it next time?”
- This will help them think of what they can do better next time (solution driven) “Next time I will move more slowly.” or “Next time I will watch where I am walking.” rather than making them think. “I am not careful.” “I always make a mess.”
4. Encourage them to set small goals and celebrate themselves for achieving them.
Teaching your child to set small goals is important because it helps them see the big picture. Encourage them to set small goals by asking questions like, “What is one thing you want to do this week?”. Or “How can we celebrate when you reach your goal?”
It’s also important that when they achieve their goals, we celebrate with them and give praise.
5. Show them how to handle stress and setbacks in a healthy way.
Stress is a normal part of life, but it can be hard to manage when you’re young. Here are some ways you can help your kids learn how to handle stress:
- Let them know that it’s okay to feel worried or upset when something isn’t going right. It’s important for kids to know this because they may think they’re being “bad” if they get upset about something. (like failing a test) You might say something like, “It’s okay if you feel frustrated–feelings like frustration are normal!”
- Teach them to recognize how their body responds during stressful situations. Do this by asking questions like “What do you notice happening?”. or “How does your body feel?”
- You could even try doing some breathing exercises together.
- This way everyone can relax before moving forward with whatever task needs completing next!
- Helping children understand that setbacks happen will give them tools for dealing with failure.
You can shape how your child thinks about their failures and successes by creating a supportive environment that encourages them to learn from their mistakes and embrace challenges instead of fearing them.
By creating a supportive environment that encourages them to learn from their mistakes and embrace challenges instead of fearing them, you will help your child develop the growth mindset they need in order for them to achieve success in school, sports and life.
What is growth mindset for kids?
The growth mindset is a belief that you can change your intelligence through effort. It’s a mindset that you can learn new things, improve at something and get better at it over time. The growth mindset is the opposite of a fixed or static view of intelligence, talent and ability–that they are set in stone from birth and cannot be changed at all by effort or experience.
The idea behind “growth mindset” comes from Carol Dweck’s research on motivation at Stanford University (Dweck & Leggett 1988).
She found that people who believe their basic qualities (like intelligence) are innate tend to be less motivated than those who believe these qualities can be developed through hard work and perseverance–the “growth” part of growth mindset!
How to teach kids a growth mindset.
- Teach your child that effort matters.
- Praise effort, not talent or ability. If you praise your child for doing well at something, it’s important to also acknowledge the effort they put into their work.
- Telling them “You’re so smart!” or “You’re so talented!” can make them feel like they don’t need to try hard in order to succeed.
- Instead, encourage them with statements like “I’m proud of how hard you worked on this project” or “I noticed how much time went into this drawing.”
- Encourage risk-taking and failure as learning opportunities.
- Rather than punishing kids when they make mistakes or get frustrated while trying something new (which will only make them less likely to take risks), use those moments as teaching moments by helping your child understand what went wrong and offering suggestions for improvement next time around — which might mean trying again!
Teach your child that effort matters.
- Teach your child that effort matters.
- Don’t give up.
- Don’t be afraid to make mistakes.
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help, or ask questions when you need it!
Praise effort, not talent or ability.
When you praise your child, focus on the effort they put into their work. Instead of saying “you are so smart!” or “you are so talented!” try to find something they did well and praise that instead.
For example, if your child is learning how to play an instrument and has been practicing every day for weeks, then you could say:
“You’ve been working really hard at playing the violin! I’m proud of how much time and effort you’ve put into learning this new skill.”
When we praise children for their intelligence or natural ability it makes them feel like there’s nothing more they can do to improve themselves.
If someone thinks I’m smart or talented enough then there’s no point in me trying harder because I’ll never get any better than this anyway!
But when we praise kids’ efforts we encourage them not only in their current task but also future ones too by reminding them that hard work leads to success (and eventually increased confidence).
Encourage risk-taking and failure as learning opportunities.
- Failure is not the end.
- Failure is a learning opportunity.
- Failure is not the same as success, it’s just different than what you expected to happen.
- Failure isn’t a judgement on your character either
- it’s just an indication that something was learned from and can be applied next time! (And if it’s not, then maybe there wasn’t much value in doing this particular project.)
- You don’t have to give up when something doesn’t work out as planned–you can always try again or find another way around your obstacles!
Help them understand the difference between a challenge and threat.
- Help them understand the difference between a challenge and threat.
- A challenge is something you can learn from, while a threat is something that could cause harm or pain. For example, when learning to ride a bike for the first time, it’s an opportunity for growth.
- However, if you fall off your bike and scrape up your knees while riding down a hill at high speeds, this experience may be more negative than positive because it could lead to injuries that take away from future experiences with bikes (and other things).
Give them opportunities to learn from their mistakes and make corrections.
When you give your child the opportunity to learn from their mistakes and make corrections, they will be more likely to do so.
This is because they have a growth mindset and know that mistakes are part of the learning process. If a child refuses to try something because they might fail their potential will never be realized!
Teach them about grit, perseverance and determination.
- Teach them about grit, perseverance and determination.
These are important life skills that can help you achieve your goals and overcome obstacles. They can also improve your performance in all areas of life, including schoolwork or sports. You can explain the concept of “grit” by telling your children it’s the ability to keep going when things get tough.
For example: “I know this math problem looks hard at first glance but I’m going to work on it until I figure out how to solve it.”
A growth mindset is an idea that you can change your intelligence through effort, practice, persistence and training.
A growth mindset is an idea that you can change your intelligence through effort, practice, persistence and training. The idea behind a growth mindset is that you can’t change your intelligence but you can change how you use it. It’s about learning from mistakes and improving.
The main difference between the two mindsets is that people with a fixed mindset believe their abilities are set in stone. They feel like they have little control over their success or failure in life because of “how smart” they are (or aren’t). On the other hand, those with a growth mindset believe that with hard work and dedication anything is possible–even becoming smarter than anyone else!
Conclusion
If you want your child to succeed in life, it’s important that they have a growth mindset. The ability to learn from mistakes and embrace challenges instead of fearing them will help them achieve their goals and achieve success in their career.
Check out Positive Affirmations for Kids and get FREE Printable Affirmation Cards for Kids!
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