Developing a Growth Mindset

We want our kids to be persistent and resilient when they deal with challenges. We want them to learn and grow from their mistakes. And we want to empower them to feel optimistic, motivated and adventurous in childhood and beyond.

These ideas are at the heart of what’s called a growth mindset, a term originally created by Carol Dweck, an educational psychologist. This concept is now being taught in schools as a key part of social-emotional learning.

Teaching kids to embrace a growth mindset means helping them believe they can improve their skills through effort. By working hard, they have the power to change things. For example, if they struggle with reading, they don’t tell themselves, “I’m bad at reading and I always will be.” (This attitude is what’s known as a fixed mindset.) Instead, a growth mindset helps them fully believe they can improve their reading skills by working hard, practicing and accepting help from others.

Here’s one very simple way to help your child build a growth mindset. When your child says, “I can’t do this,” teach them to change that thought to “I can’t do this yet.” Help them believe that they’ll get the hang of it with lots of practice, and that practice is supposed to have lots of mistakes. Praise their willingness to accept their mistakes as part of the process — and proof of their progress. It’s a guaranteed way to build new skills!

Changing our language (including our internal self-talk) is key to changing our mindset. Help your child create some powerfully positive affirmations like those shown here. Reassure them that a steep learning curve usually feels very uncomfortable — and if they persist, they’ll conquer it.

Everyone can learn, change and grow. A growth mindset will not only help your child succeed in school, it will also equip them to have a happy, fulfilling life!

Check out these positive parenting resources.