Developing a Growth Mindset in Your Child Starts with You!
As parents, you play a huge role in influencing the mindset of your children, so it’s important for you to model a growth mindset for your children. Showing your children that you are excited by challenges, see mistakes as learning opportunities, and understand the value of practice and trying different strategies will go a long way in cultivating their growth mindsets!
Understanding Mindsets
A growth mindset is the underlying belief that abilities can be developed through effort and practice. Children with a growth mindset persist in the face of challenges because they understand that effort and hard work can change ability and intelligence. A fixed mindset is the belief that intelligence is static, and cannot be changed. When children have a fixed mindset, they tend to give up easily when they encounter obstacles, because they believe that they don’t have what it takes to learn hard things.
“ We just finished the program and loved it. My son was engaged, and I enjoyed seeing him use the tools he learned on his own to help him calm himself down and tackle his work.”
- N. Cutler, Homeschool Parent
Growth Mindset Parenting
Parents often wonder what they can do and say to change their child’s mindset from fixed to growth. The good news is that mindsets can change, and there are certain strategies you can use right away to see a big difference in your child’s challenge-seeking behavior. Giving process praise, talking about the brain, accepting mistakes as learning opportunities, and understanding the role of emotions in learning are all practices you can begin today.
Implementing at Home
Our award-winning programs used in schools are also available for home use. Brainology is best for students in grades 4-9, and is a fully online program that comes with downloadable lesson plans and resources. The Brainology Parents Guide has discussion questions and other resources to help you integrate growth mindset principles and practices into your family’s lifestyle.
School-Home Connection
Would you like to share these ideas with teachers and administrators at your child’s school? We have a wealth of resources for you to use to make the case for a growth mindset movement at your school and transform the learning environment of your child.