Fostering a growth mindset in kids helps them embrace challenges and see mistakes as learning opportunities. Here’s how to encourage persistence and resilience in them.
“It’s not that I'm so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.’’ - Albert Einstein
Key Concepts
- Mindsets are what guide our actions, reactions and behaviors, in particular, when it comes to gaining knowledge and learning new skills. There are two types of mindsets: fixed vs growth. In a fixed mindset, you believe that your qualities are unchangeable. In a growth mindset, you view your qualities as things that are malleable and can be cultivated through effort.
- There is robust research demonstrating the benefits of cultivating a growth mindset beginning in early childhood.
What to Try
- Model for children that learning occurs everyday by telling them what you learned today, and ask them what they learned.
- Support "trial and error learning" by framing mistakes as opportunities to grow and try again. "Woops! The tower fell down. Let's try again. What if we try putting the bigger blocks on the bottom?"
- Model and encourage positive self-talk with phrases like, “what am I missing?” or "I can't quite do this YET", rather than “I can't" or "I’m not good at this.”
- Praise effort, persistence, seeking challenges, setting goals, planning, or using creative strategies. "You tried so many different combinations of colors." or "What do you think you'll add next?" While it is often tempting to tell children how great their artwork is or how smart they are, this does not encourage perseverance. When “perfection” or innate talent are praised, children may become anxious to take risks where they may fail.
- Talk about brains growing. Young toddlers are fascinated by the body and all that it does. In other words, give your toddler a little intro to brain plasticity. "Each time we make a mistake and keep going, our brains are getting stronger."