A growth mindset is essential for students to reach their full potential while maintaining happiness and wellbeing. In their competitive academic environment, it’s easy for children’s self esteem to drop and self doubt to rise. It may get so intense that they cannot think of trying, much less succeeding at, new things. Help your child be resilient against these pressures by fostering a growth mindset. Here’s how:

1. Because I Want To – Is Justification Necessary?

You must learn to accept “Because I want to” as an answer for why you, or your child, adopt a new hobby or interest. There is no need to justify any activities you take part in, and doing it out of pleasure is O-K.

2. Engagement

Encourage your child to seek out new friendships! Remind them to keep an open mind, as this is important in learning new things, stimulating creativity and their sense of adventure. This could spark interest in new activities they were unsure about in the past.

 3. Open to Dreaming

Every new adventure, or achievement, begins with a dream. It’s important to embrace your child’s dreams in order to identify new opportunities for growth. Dreaming big is very common with children - work with them and help them achieve this.

 4. There is Always Room for Improvement

Children and adults alike - there will always be opportunities for improvement and to learn from experiences; therefore, you can do the best you can with the knowledge you possess at that time, but still grow from what you have learned. As a parent who has experienced this, help your child understand it, so that they can face mistakes with a resolve to learn from the situation and enhance their skills for next time.

 5. The Experience Versus The Outcome

Some children may find is frustrating when they engage in an activity they find difficult and are having a hard time succeeding in. Often times, it’s not all about “winning” but rather what they would get out of the experience. Encourage your child to focus on what they’re learning from it and the enjoyable aspects of the activity.

 6. One New Thing Everyday

Sometimes it’s hard for a child to find something they really enjoy, by committing to trying one new thing every day, this opens so many opportunities. Exposing your child to a range of hobbies gives them the best chance of discovering something they love. Further, they will quickly develop a personal growth mindset where they see challenges rather than problems, and are unafraid to try new things.