In today's fast-paced and competitive world, helping your child develop the right mindset is more important than ever. Research shows that the way children think about learning and effort significantly affects their performance. This article explores the concept of a growth mindset, explains the difference between a growth and fixed mindset, and offers actionable strategies parents can use to help their child embrace hard work and perseverance. Your words and behavior as a parent play a critical role in shaping your child’s beliefs about intelligence and success and your engagement as parents can empower lifelong learning and resilience.
Dr. Carol Dweck, a psychology professor at Stanford University, has conducted groundbreaking research showing that mindset has significant and direct effects on behavior and performance—especially when tasks are challenging.
She coined the term growth mindset to describe the belief that intelligence can improve through studying and practice. Intelligence isn’t fixed at birth; people with a growth mindset understand that brainpower is like a muscle—it grows stronger with use.
Another psychologist, Angela Duckworth, has spent much of her career studying high-achieving adults across fields like business, athletics, and government. Her research and book “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance” supports the growth mindset concept, using different but complementary terminology.
Individuals with a growth mindset believe that intelligence can be developed. This belief leads to a natural desire to learn, embrace challenges, and keep going even when things get hard.
They recognize that sustained effort is essential for mastery in almost anything, and they value feedback from others as an opportunity to improve.
On the other hand, individuals with a fixed mindset believe their intelligence and learning capacity are set at birth. These students may do well in familiar areas but shy away from new or difficult tasks to avoid looking "not smart."
They may give up easily, devalue effort, and reject feedback—especially if it sounds like criticism. As a result, they often don’t reach their full potential.
Engaged parents can help children develop a growth mindset. Demonstrating your own growth mindset and grit helps children see that setbacks are normal—and that perseverance is key to improvement. Accepting weaknesses and failures means that opportunities to learn and grow are overlooked and missed.
One powerful strategy is to model it yourself. Children absorb much of what they see and hear from their parents. If you visibly embrace challenges and show resilience in the face of mistakes, your child is more likely to do the same. Learn about and make your own growth mindset apparent to your child.
Mistakes and failures are human – they happen to everyone. How you handle them is what makes the difference. Don’t hide your mistakes—show how you recover from them. Yes, mistakes are frustrating. It’s okay to feel that, but then move forward to calming yourself and planning your next steps.
Framing is everything. When your child struggles with a concept, try using the power of "yet." Frame your child’s efforts and achievements in ways that can help them build a growth mindset in their approach to learning.
Rather than seeing a mistake as failure, reframe it as something they haven’t mastered yet. This one small word opens the door to progress and keeps the focus on learning.
Take inspiration from Thomas Edison, who may have failed thousands of times before inventing the lightbulb. Each failed attempt wasn’t a defeat, but a step closer to success.
Help your child understand that learning takes time, practice, and persistence. A poor test score isn’t a fixed verdict—it's a signal to try again with new strategies.
Your child is not “bad” at something—they’re just not there yet. This mindset builds resilience, motivation, and long-term success.
The way you praise your child can either reinforce a growth or fixed mindset.
Praising effort encourages persistence and problem-solving. Praising intelligence can unintentionally promote fear of failure and avoidance of challenges. Here are some examples.
Say this:
Not this:
These subtle changes in language have a big impact on your child’s attitude toward learning and growth.
Helping your child build a growth mindset takes intention, consistency, and engagement. When parents model perseverance, frame failure as part of the learning process, and celebrate effort over talent, children learn that intelligence isn't fixed—it evolves.
Take growth mindset to Parent-Teacher Conferences. Understanding where your child’s opportunities for growth exist and how to support them puts you, your child, and your child’s teacher on a pathway to better student achievement.
Your involvement as a parent doesn’t just support academic success; it fosters the lifelong traits of grit, resilience, and confidence. Your engagement can help your child to thrive—both in and beyond the classroom.