Dr. Carol Dweck, an educational psychologist says in her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success- A growth mindset happens when we believe that we can improve our intelligence and abilities with effort and the right strategies. Children with a growth mindset have been shown to be happier, healthier, and achieve more in life!  Check out the strategies here about how to encourage your child to build a growth mindset?

Why Instill a Growth Mindset

Kids who believe that they are able to grow their brains to become smart have the highest academic performance. Studies show that growth mindset children bring about higher math grades and take more advanced classes in school. They focus on learning from their mistakes in order to improve their skills. It is important to install the principles of a growth mindset in your child from a young age. 

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How to Promote a Growth Mindset to Your kids

Mind your language

Children basically develop their self-concept in their preschool-age. So, Brittany McCabe, a local mom, blogger, and early-childhood specialist says that we need to be mindful of the language we say and of the tone in our voices when we respond to our kids. She further says that the responses of parents and educators must be objective, descriptive, and encouraging. She adds that you never grow your kids’ development without inspiring them to question, gather, test, and observe the world around them.

Praise the Process

Please use ‘process praise’ rather than ‘product praise’ to steer children’s mindset over to the positive path. The two best examples of ‘product praise’ are “great job” and “you are so smart”. ‘Product praises’ come naturally from parents and educators, says Elisha Gonzalez, director at Fox Child Development Center in Century City. She then says that children feel proud of the progress they have made through ‘progress praise’. So, teachers and parents should understand the importance of ‘process praise’. 

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Processes praise tether children’s actions to their success. Through process praise, they are praised for their efforts and taught to take ownership of their failure. When children learn that failure is an important part of learning and growing to take risks, they can develop their confidence, resilience, and self-esteem. 

Grow that brain

We can grow children’s brains by asking tricky questions suitable for them and helping them to try new things. Although they feel that it is funny, they are learning while explaining. When they struggle to describe everything, they are actually helping their brain grow. Some children thrive on challenges and show resilience but some others do not. What are the reasons?  

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The main reason is the combination of nature and nurture. Children who are nurtured by their parents to build their resilience by modeling, by teaching, become growth mindset children.  Besides, parents can grow their children's winner’s mentality by encouraging children and being non-judgmental about failed attempts. Moreover, it is significant to develop perseverance in the children so that they gain the ability to take risks, survive and prevail.

Book talk

Undoubtedly books are the most powerful resource for developing a growth mindset in kids. Books have internal scripts that help kids to grow their thought processes in solving problems. You can use some great writers’ books as your reference. There is no fixed time to teach a growth mindset to your children. It should be active from birth. Keep some time in your daily routine so that that time can help you to shape a growth mindset for your children. If you identify these moments, you can use these opportunities to actively model growth mindset skills. If you can empower your parenting with these skills, ultimately you will help your children learn, grow and thrive.

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Lead by Example

Show your child the mistakes you have made and explain to them how you have learned from them. You always need to try something new, such as exercising, cooking a new recipe, and fixing things around the house. So, let your kids know about all your activities, especially the challenging ones. Try to maintain a positive attitude and illustrate the learning process which your kids also follow. 

Explain Science Behind Growth

Kids are really keen to learn. Remember that teaching them can help them see why it’s great to have a growth mindset! Let them believe that our brains really do have the ability to grow. Explain to them that our brains are like plastic, meaning that they can change. Moreover, Talk to them that we have the power to make neurons fire and connections stronger by practicing a skill or learning something new.

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Introduce New Experiences

Introducing new things to your child, you can teach your kids to embrace adventures. Encourage them to try new things always. Tell them if you learn something new, this will actually make new connections grow in your brain. When they struggle the first time, inspire them to go further and they of course grow their confidence if they see their skills grow. 

Seek Services to Help

Be concerned about your child’s communication, fine motor, or gross motor skills. Take further steps that will help your child maintain a growth mindset as he or she improves abilities in these areas.

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Teach Child Different Mindsets 

Developing a growth mindset in your child, self-awareness is a great place to start. Ask them to know about different mindsets by reading books or watching videos. Advise your child to read the book “Making a Splash”, a fun book in which they will find how two siblings of different mindsets learn swimming. This book will help to get everything you need to explain a growth mindset to your child.

Help Them Set Goals 

Help your child set ‘SMART’ goals for himself where S = Specific, M= Measurable, A = Achievable, R = Relevant, T = Timely. Then guide him in the process of achieving those goals. If your child can set goals by brainstorming, they want to get better at it.

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