A growth mindset in children changes their attitude towards learning and makes them work harder to achieve their goals. Read this article for tips on what you can do as a parent to foster a positive learning mindset!
Our world is one in flux. Ever-changing, constantly on the move, new wonders and challenges at every corner.
In a world like this, children need specific mindsets to thrive. Here, we’ll introduce you to one of the best ones – the growth mindset for children popularised by psychologist Carol Dweck.
Founded on the belief that abilities and intelligence can spring from cultivation, it can help children develop resilience to all challenges. Given the benefits of this for both academic and personal development, it’s worth knowing for any parent.
A growth mindset is based on the notion of growth being possible through effort. In other words, it’s dependent on the idea that improvement is possible through work.
With a growth mindset, a person or child believes that intelligence and talents aren’t fixed. One doesn’t need to be “born smart” to be smart, for example.
Instead, the growth mindset assumes that intelligence and talents can be developed. Through effort, perseverance, and practice, a person can learn new skills and hone existing ones.
The beauty of a growth mindset for children is one that encourages resilience in the face of obstacles. If a child believes that it’s possible to overcome a hurdle through work and persistence, there are virtually no hurdles!
Children with this way of thinking tend to be tougher than those with fixed mindsets. They’re less prone to being disheartened by setbacks, since they take them as learning opportunities.
What’s more, the child with a growth mindset tends to be more emotionally stable. This is because every failure isn’t a reflection of his value based on current ability. It isn’t an unfixable critique of him, in other words, but an indication of how he can further improve.
Children who deal with life’s ups and downs better have a natural advantage. It prepares them for the many eventualities of the future. It also fosters a positive attitude to further learning and development later on – even past their formal education!
There are several ways you can encourage the development of a positive learning mindset for children (which is another way of referring to the growth mindset). Here are some of the tips we’ve found most effective at Aspire Hub:
When you praise natural talent, you emphasise the idea that people have to be born with innate ability in something to be good at it. This may lead children to think that they have no chance at improvement if they don’t start out good at something.
So, shift your praise to the parts the child can control. Try to avoid saying “You’re so smart” and say things like “You worked really hard on that problem and got great results”.
This way, you reinforce the idea that success springs up from their work and efforts to learn. Instead, it’s not an outcome of them just being “born with smarts”.
The growth mindset is intimately linked with curiosity. Curiosity, discovery, and experimentation are all ways to learn and find new solutions to problems, after all.
So, encouraging curiosity is key when discussing how to shift to a positive mindset. That means setting up an environment where children know they can ask questions. Indeed, they should feel encouraged to do so!
Let your child know too that it’s safe to try new ideas. When children feel safe to do such things, they’re more likely to enjoy learning and the process of seeking new knowledge.
Children tend to mimic what they see adults do. Take advantage of that by giving them a good example of the growth mindset! Demonstrate it at every opportunity in front of them.
A good way to do this is to share and talk about learning experiences with them after encountering a challenge. Let them know about the mistakes you made and how you corrected them to eventually succeed.
By seeing their own guardians embrace such an attitude, children can come to value effort. It may also give them ideas for how to use failure as a stepping stone in their own lives.
“Yet” is such a strong word when it comes to development. “Yet” means nothing is set in stone. It signifies a future where things can change.
Teaching children the power of this word early on can do wonders for them. If your child says “I can’t do this”, teach him to say “I can’t do this yet” instead.
Even this simple alteration can change the way a child sees a problem. It no longer becomes insurmountable and may even become a fun puzzle to work on.
There will often be challenges to sustaining a growth mindset. This will become even more noticeable as a child gets older, with factors like peer pressure and stress coming into play.
Luckily, there are things you can do to provide support and guidance for your child. Here are some tips you can use:
Our world is one in flux. Ever-changing, constantly on the move, new wonders and challenges at every corner.
In a world like this, children need specific mindsets to thrive. Here, we’ll introduce you to one of the best ones – the growth mindset for children popularised by psychologist Carol Dweck.
Founded on the belief that abilities and intelligence can spring from cultivation, it can help children develop resilience to all challenges. Given the benefits of this for both academic and personal development, it’s worth knowing for any parent.
A growth mindset is based on the notion of growth being possible through effort. In other words, it’s dependent on the idea that improvement is possible through work.
With a growth mindset, a person or child believes that intelligence and talents aren’t fixed. One doesn’t need to be “born smart” to be smart, for example.
Instead, the growth mindset assumes that intelligence and talents can be developed. Through effort, perseverance, and practice, a person can learn new skills and hone existing ones.
The beauty of a growth mindset for children is one that encourages resilience in the face of obstacles. If a child believes that it’s possible to overcome a hurdle through work and persistence, there are virtually no hurdles!
Children with this way of thinking tend to be tougher than those with fixed mindsets. They’re less prone to being disheartened by setbacks, since they take them as learning opportunities.
What’s more, the child with a growth mindset tends to be more emotionally stable. This is because every failure isn’t a reflection of his value based on current ability. It isn’t an unfixable critique of him, in other words, but an indication of how he can further improve.
Children who deal with life’s ups and downs better have a natural advantage. It prepares them for the many eventualities of the future. It also fosters a positive attitude to further learning and development later on – even past their formal education!
There are several ways you can encourage the development of a positive learning mindset for children (which is another way of referring to the growth mindset). Here are some of the tips we’ve found most effective at Aspire Hub:
When you praise natural talent, you emphasise the idea that people have to be born with innate ability in something to be good at it. This may lead children to think that they have no chance at improvement if they don’t start out good at something.
So, shift your praise to the parts the child can control. Try to avoid saying “You’re so smart” and say things like “You worked really hard on that problem and got great results”.
This way, you reinforce the idea that success springs up from their work and efforts to learn. Instead, it’s not an outcome of them just being “born with smarts”.
The growth mindset is intimately linked with curiosity. Curiosity, discovery, and experimentation are all ways to learn and find new solutions to problems, after all.
So, encouraging curiosity is key when discussing how to shift to a positive mindset. That means setting up an environment where children know they can ask questions. Indeed, they should feel encouraged to do so!
Let your child know too that it’s safe to try new ideas. When children feel safe to do such things, they’re more likely to enjoy learning and the process of seeking new knowledge.
Children tend to mimic what they see adults do. Take advantage of that by giving them a good example of the growth mindset! Demonstrate it at every opportunity in front of them.
A good way to do this is to share and talk about learning experiences with them after encountering a challenge. Let them know about the mistakes you made and how you corrected them to eventually succeed.
By seeing their own guardians embrace such an attitude, children can come to value effort. It may also give them ideas for how to use failure as a stepping stone in their own lives.
“Yet” is such a strong word when it comes to development. “Yet” means nothing is set in stone. It signifies a future where things can change.
Teaching children the power of this word early on can do wonders for them. If your child says “I can’t do this”, teach him to say “I can’t do this yet” instead.
Even this simple alteration can change the way a child sees a problem. It no longer becomes insurmountable and may even become a fun puzzle to work on.
There will often be challenges to sustaining a growth mindset. This will become even more noticeable as a child gets older, with factors like peer pressure and stress coming into play.
Luckily, there are things you can do to provide support and guidance for your child. Here are some tips you can use:
The growth mindset is clearly crucial for development in young ones. By empowering them to embrace challenges and failures, it sets them up for eventual success.
If you need help nurturing this mindset, reach out to us. It’s a critical part of our methodology at Aspire Hub, where we tap into children’s motivations to help them realise their potential.
To learn more, reach out to us and ask about our tutor-coaching programmes or methodology!
