Happy Mid-Summer Monday! As you know, I am excited about kids and parenting. I love the abundant possibilities and opportunities that are presented each day with our kids. As parents, fostering a positive and resilient attitude in our children is crucial for their long-term success and happiness. One powerful way to achieve this is by understanding and promoting a growth mindset over a fixed mindset. But what exactly are these mindsets, and how can they impact your child’s development? I realized I may have yet to define these terms and wanted to ensure we were all on common ground.
Fixed Mindset: A fixed mindset is the belief that abilities and intelligence are static traits—they are set in stone and cannot be changed. Children with a fixed mindset might think that they are either “good” or “bad” at something, with no room for improvement. For example, a child might say, “I’m just not good at math,” and believe that no amount of effort will change this.
Growth Mindset: A growth mindset, on the other hand, is the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through hard work, dedication, and learning. Children with a growth mindset understand that effort leads to improvement and view challenges as opportunities to grow.
You all know me by now and see that I fully support at Growth Mindset. (Thank you, Dr. Carol Dweck, for your brilliance! )
How Parents Can Foster a Growth Mindset
- Praise Effort, Not Just Results: Encourage your child by praising the effort they put into their tasks rather than the outcome.
- Encourage Learning from Mistakes: Teach your child that mistakes are a natural part of the learning process. Help them see failures as opportunities to learn and improve. FAIL=First Attempt In Learning
- Model a Growth Mindset: Show your child that you also embrace a growth mindset. Please share your own challenges and how you overcome them through perseverance and effort.
- Promote the Love of Learning: Encourage curiosity and the love of learning new things. Provide opportunities for your child to explore different interests and hobbies.
- Use Positive Language: Use language that reinforces the idea of growth and improvement. Instead of saying, “You’re so smart,” when something your child does is successful, try, “You worked really hard on this, and it paid off!”
By understanding the difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset and actively promoting the latter, you can help your child develop resilience, a love for learning, and the confidence to face challenges head-on.
Together, we will keep on growing on this parenting journey.
xoxo,
Dr. Marnee