To simply put, the fact the talent in children is not a rigid idea and learning or different conditions can improve the level of smartness in children is full of possibilities for the parents and children, as the studies on brain clearly illustrate that the attitude or caliber level of the children can be changed over the period of time. Likewise, if you are one of the traditional parents who blame the children for not doing so well in some of the domains or school, it is time for you to open your mind to the new developments in the brain studies. In addition, if you have a child who struggles with math skills or learning foreign languages, it does not mean that this cannot be changed. Even though the role of genetic determinism cannot be neglected either. For instance, some children prefer specific toddler toys like ride on cars with remote control, while other opts for completely unconventional choice. However, as the minds of adult changes, the same rule applies to the children as well.
In other words, parents may have to change the attitude towards the growth of the children and the capacity of the brain to learn and unlearn things. This point will also be very useful when it comes to the stage of building confidence in the children in term of self-belief and the tendency to achieve success through hard work and following proper procedure of things. For example, some of the children prefer to learn from the non-traditional or unconventional means. However, if you are not aware of the growth mindset, you may give up on children or end up inculcating the wrong mindset in the children.
According to the new finding, the learning of people towards the fixed mindset can severely damage the potential of children to improve or learn new things. This is why it is important to take the findings related to the growth of children brain seriously. Another disadvantage of subscribing to the fixed mindset is that the role of hope in children can be decreased to a large extent, particularly when it comes to the impact of alternative means or ways to learn and approach studies.
Moreover, if you believe in the growth mindset, chances are it will drive your choices and prospects of success as compared to the people who uphold traditional views on the growth of mind or who promote the thought that children are mostly born with talents. In the same way, the positive reinforcing language when children face failure or the bad patch of life can facilitate in boosting the self-confidence and the ability to rise after the setbacks. Furthermore, studies have shown that the children in the traditional schooling system lack the self-belief and confidence, which prevents them from opting new options or taking risks.
Another demerit of upholding the traditional belief on the fixed mindset or intelligence is that the children will reinforce the ideas and the will be manifested in the thinking and actions, especially when it comes to handling failures or low phases in life. In other words, the potential of an individual to fight back or recover after going through hard times will decrease. In addition, the value of taking risks and trying new options helps to not only deal with the failures or rejections, but the development of innovative approaches and solutions can also be enhanced. This means the emphasis on growth mindset and the following strategies can nurture the right kind of thought process.
Appreciate the Process Rather than End Result
Most of the parents in the past focused on result oriented approach of the children, which led them to devalue or downplay the significance of the process involved in achieving or losing something. However, if parents encourage the children to enjoy the process of learning studies and other things in life more than the results or end product, it could open vistas of opportunities for the children to cope with rejections and hard times. Similarly, the role of the first step or beginning is often neglected by the children, but if one looks deeply at the process, the role of right beginning or the start of any process determines the likelihood of success to an extent. This means children should be taught to cherish the process and the beginning of anything to be precise.
Capability Building Exercises
Exercises based on self-reliance are another missing point in the parenting of the traditional parents. To put simply, the children have not introduced the variety of ways to develop the capacity. For example, if your children or one of them lacks the skills to cope with pressure or if they grapple with problem-solving skills, the rigid mindset would create further obstacles in form of decreasing the self-belief to improve the missing skills. However, if children are aware of the multiple ways to build a capacity or to improve the weak skills, the results can be enhanced to a large extent.
Significance of Feedback
It has been noticed that one of the important reasons for failures when it comes to children is that they don’t receive an honest feedback for the particular task. For example, if the teachers in school don’t pay attention to weak students, the outcome is often worst than the expectations, however, if they are told the strengths and weaknesses of the assignments and other given tasks, the performance increases manifold. Similarly, some of the parents seem afraid to give honest feedback to the children out of the concerns and protection mechanisms for them, however, in the long term; those children suffer from achieving the tasks or develop weak skills. Therefore, it is important to protect children and it is natural, however, parents should remember that they can go overboard with it.
Share This Article
