- GRIP Learning's Team
- April 6, 2023
There is no better time than now, while they are still malleable, to instill in them the value of leadership skills.
Today, parents will learn how to approach their children with a growth mindset!
Did you know that by shaping your child’s perspective, you can help them learn more effectively?
What if we told you that the way you think now can have a significant impact on your children’s ability to succeed and bounce back from adversity as adults?
You are curious about this, right?
Let me introduce you to growth-minded parenting. Your children can develop greater resilience in the face of adversity by adopting the mindset we’ll discuss.
In order to assist your child in developing their cognitive capacities and learning more effectively, we’ll also provide you with seven strategies for instilling in them a growth mentality. Okay, so let’s get going!
An individual with a growth mindset considers learning and professional development to be ongoing processes throughout their lives.
They have a fundamental faith in the power of learning to improve one’s IQ and competence.
“Growth mindset” was coined by Stanford University professor Carol Dweck, Ph.D. Its application has become widespread in fields related to teaching and child psychology.
Dweck’s research over many years has led her to identify common attributes among children who develop into resilient adults. Those mature individuals who are able to cope with pressure and difficulties successfully
When she looked into their early lives, she discovered that they had the same philosophy about life. A “growth mindset,” as she called it, is the basis for this perspective.
Parenting with a growth mindset encourages this outlook in our kids.
Young people who have a growth mindset consider it possible to learn and grow into any role in life.
To them, failures are stepping stones to success, not excuses to give up.
Children that have a growth mindset generally do not believe that people have static levels of intelligence.
There aren’t very many born geniuses, but there are plenty of people who work hard to expand their knowledge and develop their skills.
On the other hand, those who hold a “fixed mindset” consider their innate intelligence and skill levels to be unchangeable no matter how much they study or work at improving them.
Those with this perspective label mistakes as “failures” and give up easily when they don’t see immediate results.
That’s why it’s so easy to make people feel bad about themselves by asking them to do something out of the usual.
Because of this, people with a fixed mindset often experience ups and downs in their sense of self-esteem as they achieve different levels of achievement. They blame their “good” or “bad” selves for the outcome rather than admitting that they simply lacked the necessary skills at the time.
As parents with a growth mindset, you know that it’s important to instill in your child the belief that failure is temporary and that with hard work, anyone can succeed.
In the long run, this will help children become more capable learners and adults who can persevere in the face of adversity.
Here are some tips on how you can approach your children with a growth mindset:
People’s minds are more malleable than previously believed.
It’s incredibly powerful to show kids that their choices and behaviors directly impact how much their brains develop.
Remind your children that, just like a muscle, their brains will grow with the right amount of use, effort, and practice.
Children must be taught that intelligence is not fixed and can develop over time.
One of the most important parts of raising children with a growth mindset is teaching them that they can reach their full potential if they work hard and don’t give up.
When kids learn that their brains actually change physically as they practice and develop, they become more invested in their education and focus less on their occasional setbacks.
To fully embrace the growth mindset, one must first develop an understanding of oneself.
If you want children to adopt a growth mindset, you must first teach them to recognize the signs of a fixed mindset.
Everyone has a combination of growth and fixed mindsets. To reap the benefits of a growth mentality, we must be able to recognize when we are acting from a fixed rather than a growth-oriented perspective.
When parents take the time to explain the distinction between the two frames of mind, they equip their children with the tools they need to recognize when they or others are giving up or failing to put in the necessary effort.
By doing so, they can begin to consider alternative viewpoints on the problem at hand.
As the word “mindset” implies, a lot happens in your kid’s mind.
This is why it’s crucial to have conversations with kids about their inner voice and how it may be harmful.
Parenting with a growth mindset emphasizes showing children how the words they use may significantly impact their perspective.
Motivate and inspire your child to keep going even when they feel like giving up by teaching them to replace negative thoughts with more positive ones.
This is also known as the “acknowledge and reward hard work” strategy. You want your children to know that ability alone isn’t enough to succeed in life; they also need to put in the time and effort required to reach their full potential.
Instead of only applauding them when they achieve something, acknowledge the times when they worked hard.
If you want your children to be resilient, you must prepare them for adversity. They shouldn’t be frightened to challenge themselves and grow.
Say something like, “I can tell you’ve been putting in a lot of effort to get that just right” or “excellent work for taking on something so challenging.” It’s a great way to encourage your kids to keep expanding themselves.
Children develop at various speeds, so some will inevitably have difficulties in areas where their siblings and peers have already made significant progress. This is very irritating, to say the least.
You should never encourage your children to believe that they “can’t” achieve something. The lesson you want to convey is that just because they won’t be able to accomplish something now doesn’t mean they won’t be able to do it later.
That is the power of the word “yet.”
This one word is a magic bullet for parents who adopt a growth attitude. So how does it function…
Remind your children to add “yet” at the end of the sentence whenever they use the words “can’t” or “don’t.”
I can’t ride a bike… YET.
I can’t read very well… YET
I don’t know how to solve this problem… YET
Look how effective that is!
Speaking openly about your own failures and the lessons you’ve learned from them is a great way to demonstrate a growth mindset in others.
Your children will see that this is a normal part of the learning process and that it is okay to try new things and make errors.
Fighting through difficulty and then gloriously overcoming it is an experience unlike any other. Enjoy the experience!
The best way to find out what your child struggled with or worked hard on during the school day is to ask them about it at the end of the day.
Discuss what went wrong and how it could be prevented in the future. Rather than seeing it as a setback, try to see it as an opportunity.
This is the perspective of a growth-minded parent.
Stop using words like “gifted,” “clever,” and “talented” to describe your children all the time. This does not promote work, practice, or development, and instead suggests that their talents were innate.
Labels can convey a fixed mindset and discourage the development of a growth mindset in children. It goes against the principles of a “growth mindset” approach to parenting.
Studies show that when people have a growth mindset, they are better able to deal with problems.
They will have faith in their own ability to develop and change in response to new situations. This is a parent’s dream come true!
Consistency and time are necessary to develop a growth mindset. However, the lessons of resilience and resourcefulness that you teach your children can last a lifetime after you’ve established the foundation.
You’ll raise children who are resilient in the face of adversity and who view setbacks as opportunities for growth.
