Growth mindset has been the talk of the decade. I’m not one to follow trends but, this one is worth it! As parents, it’s our responsibility to create an environment where a growth mindset can flourish. 

So, What Is Growth Mindset?

A “growth mindset,” as Carol Dweck coined the phrase, is the belief that you can grow your mind. In her book- Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, she explains that while a “fixed mindset” assumes that our character, intelligence, and creative ability are static givens that can’t be changed. A growth mindset, however, thrives on challenge and sees failure “not as evidence of unintelligence but as a heartening springboard for growth and for stretching our existing abilities.“

“Believing that your qualities are carved in stone creates an urgency to prove yourself over and over. If you have only a certain amount of intelligence, a certain personality, and a certain moral character, well then you’d better prove that you have a healthy dose of them. It simply wouldn’t do to look or feel deficient in these most basic characteristics.“

Dweck believes a fixed mindset can negatively impact all aspects of your life. When you start viewing things as changeable, you can see the situation in a clearer picture.

A growth mindset is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts.

Although people may differ in their initial talents and aptitudes, interests, or temperaments, and personalities, adults, children, including your students CAN change and GROW through application and experience. When you change your perspective, you can change what you strive for your view of success. Changing your definition of failure allows you to grow further. In this mindset, the hand you’re dealt is just the starting point for development. 

Differences Between a Growth Vs Fixed Mindset

Here’s a list of traits for each type of mindset:

A Fixed Mindset Says:

• I like my work to be easy

• I don’t like to take on a challenge

• I want people to praise me for how clever I am

• I believe I cannot change how smart I am

• I don’t like to try new things because I won’t be very good at it

• I give up easily

A Growth Mindset (Positive Mindset) Says:

• I never give up

• I like my work to be difficult – it means I am learning

• I love challenges

• I want people to praise me for the effort I put into my work

• I believe I can get more intelligent by working hard

• I feel clever when I’m learning something new

• I learn from my mistakes

Simple Ways To Support Your Child’s or Student’s Growth Mindset

Ask open-ended questions when solving a problem

• What do you think will happen if…

• Why do you suppose…

These questions build a child’s critical thinking skills and lead to those enriching “lightbulb” moments.

Give specific feedback on what the child accomplishes

Moms (and most parents) love to use phrases like “you’re brilliant”, “you made that look so easy”, “you’re so clever” but praise like this doesn’t tell your child what they have done well. Comments like these just reinforce a fixed mindset in your child. Instead, use praises that target a specific action they’ve done like- “you sounded that word out really carefully and used your phonics – well done” or “I like how you kept going at swimming and tried to get all the way to the other side.”

Encourage kids to take risks (healthy ones of course)

Watch and listen to your child so you can take cues about what else they are ready to tackle. Vygotsky calls this the “zone of proximal development”. It’s when we gently nudge children to use what they know, to try something new (just a bit out of their reach, but developmentally appropriate.) By offering small but achievable challenges, they become more confident and persistent. Its one of the best ways to increase their self-esteem!

Be persistent and growth-orientated yourself

Try and narrate your thoughts or situations out-loud when you try something new or frustrating. This will give your child a chance to see you work through hard problems in a GROWTH way and with a healthy perspective. Try to avoid using fixed mindset terms when referring to yourself. So for example, you shouldn’t tell your child “oh, I’m horrible at such and such.”

This will give your children the message that you are either good at writing or not good at writing and there’s nothing you can do about it. On the other hand, using a growth mindset tone, you might say- “Such and such was tricky for me, but if you keep trying and learning from your mistakes, you’ll get there.“

Don’t sweat the small stuff

Accidents and mistakes happen. Show your child that there’s a lesson to be had when we don’t achieve what we set out to accomplish. It’s okay to switch direction, abandon a project for a bit or slow down. No matter what always remember to be specific about what worked, identify the emotions involved, offer encouragement for the next time and figure what the next steps are. Celebrate mistakes as growth because of the lessons learned. One consequence I’ve learned by not doing this, is that you risk allowing anxiety to manifest in your child or even yourself. So, be sure to focus on these things!

Mistakes = Marvelous Mistakes!

Access Your Child’s Mindset

Take some time to understand your child’s mindset and thoughts. Pen in some time every day to have chats with your children (this may look different for every child depending on the age but it’s relevant for any child from the age of 2+) Once you have an understanding of where your kids “head is at” you can work on shifting their perspective or supporting the mindset that’s growing.

Tangible “Hands-On” Actions To Take

1. Make mistakes in front of your kids
2. Have a positive reaction to those mistakes
3. And openly reflect on what could be learned from the mistake. Try to show that it’s all about learning, not about being right.

• At mealtimes, talk about a time that you struggled with something and how hard it is and how you overcame it. Then ask your kids if there’s anything they struggled with, how they overcome it, and what they learned from the experience.

• Get excited when your child makes a mistake and help her think through what could be learned from it. Even mistakes that seem careless can be good learning opportunities. For example, if your child forgot to study enough for an important test, it might be an opportunity to learn about prioritization and to-do-lists.

Above all, remember this is and will always be an on-going process!

Growth Mindset Questions

1. What did you do today that made you think hard?
2. How will you challenge yourself today?
3. What can you learn from this?
4. What strategy can you use to get through this?
5. Can you think of a mistake you made? How can you learn from this?

Click Here To Grab a FREE Sheet of Printable Questions Here

Support Growth Mindset With An Action Plan

Help children reconnect with a time when they learned something new that was a stretch or a challenge for them.

Point out the developmental nature of getting good. For example, we all go through the process of making a lot of mistakes, practicing, and then getting better. Help your children get curious about mistakes.

Help them reframe a mistake as new information or as a step in the process of learning. Also, help them incorporate self-correction in their own learning process.

Help children learn to hear their own fixed mindset voice too.

Capture and, in a gentle way, share their statements with them. Most kids are unaware of their self-talk because it’s gone on for so long (all subliminally). Bring that to their forefront awareness so you all can tackle and overcome the issue together.

• That girl is smart; she never tries and she always gets it

• I got it wrong again, I’ll never get this

Help your children talk back to negative self-talk with a growth mindset voice (i.e. give them language).

•  I am willing to learn new skills to improve, and I know it will hard at times

• I get better and better with practice, this is hard but will get easier

• Model growth-mindset at every opportunity when you’re home!

Tell your child about a time when you didn’t know the answer to a recent question. Who did you ask for help? How did you learn the answer?

Or ask questions about their opportunities for learning and growth in the coming day or week. What questions do they need answers to? What do they want to learn, practice, and/or get better at today/this week?

The Right & Wrong Way To Give Praise

Don’t label yourself in ways that model a fixed mindset ( I’m a terrible cook….I was never good at math)

Shift your child’s attention to the process that led to the outcome. (i.e., cause-effect) Praise and value effort, practice, self-correction, and persistence. Don’t shelter your child from a failed task. Ask “What can you learn from this experience? What could you try differently the next time?”

Get curious about your child’s work through questioning & positive phrases:

• How did you figure that out?
• What’s another way you could have done that?
• How many times did you try before it turned out that way?
• What here was challenging and how did you figure it out?
• What do you plan to do next time?
• Wow!
• Look at that!
• Tell me about it
• Show me more
• Can you do it again without help?
• How did you do that?
• Let’s see what you did.
• How do you feel about it?
• How did you work that out?
• I see that you _________ (be specific)
• That looks like it took a lot of effort
• How many ways did you try it before it turned out the way you wanted it?
• What do you plan to do next?
• That looks like it took so much work.
• Are you pleased with what you did?
• What questions did you ask?
• Keep trying and you’ll get there.

Access Your Mindset As A Mom

Recognize your own mindset

Be mindful of your own thinking and of the messages you send with your words and actions. This probably should have been the first point. Because,  what if you realize that you don’t have a growth mindset? Where does that leave you? But more importantly, what can you do about it? So, for the sake of this article, I’m gonna get straight to it and assume you have a fixed mindset.

PS- no worries here. no judgment. I’m honestly right alongside you as I’ve walked down this road and continue to do so every day. its a work in progress.

Now if you have a growth mindset-awesome! Skip this section and move on the next. If not, let’s continue. First, I’m gonna share my best tips on how to revamp your mindset and then we can move forward to helping our kids. Yea? Okay, great.

Here are some tips:

Acknowledge and embrace your own imperfections

Hiding your weaknesses means you’ll never overcome them and you rob your kids’ chances to see YOU work through them (so they can learn too)

View challenges as opportunities

Embrace every opportunity to “fail”. This gives you and your children the ability to appreciate the journey more than the destination. Appreciate the inner growth and then people you become in the process.

Try something different

“There’s always another way!”

Dory, Finding Dory

The brain is not fixed and your mind shouldn’t be either. Stay connected with new research and data as it is discovered. (you know, for the naysayers)

Replace the word “failing” with the word “learning”

When you make a mistake or fall short of a goal, see it as a learning experience, not a failure.

Stop seeking approval

If you focus on others’ approval over learning, you’ll sacrifice your own potential for growth. Allow your kiddos to see you demonstrate a bold, unapologetic, leader attitude.

Value the process over the end result

People with a growth mindset perspective enjoy the learning process and don’t mind when it doesn‘t go exactly to plan.

Cultivate a sense of purpose

Dweck’s research showed that students with a growth mindset had a greater sense of purpose. But cultivating a growth mindset isn’t just for students. It benefits anyone willing to adapt. Moms and children alike. Keep the big picture in mind.

Celebrate growth with others

Share your progress with others, especially with your family. It’s an easy way to open the door to open communication.

Emphasize growth over speed

Learning fast isn’t the same as learning well, and learning well sometimes requires allowing time for mistakes.

Reward effort, not traits

Praise yourself when you’re doing something smart, not just being smart.

Redefine “genius“

Genius’ requires hard work, not talent alone!

Portray criticism as positive

Constructive criticism allows us (and our kids) to learn how to grow from the comments of others. Without becoming stagnant due to negative emotions that may arise from them.

Disassociate improvement from failure

Don’t assume that “room for improvement” equals failure. It doesn’t.

Provide regular opportunities for reflection

Allow yourself the opportunity to reflect on your learning at least once a day. Reflecting will cultivate an attitude of gratitude and naturally help rid any anxiety that rises up in your kids.

Place effort before talent

Hard work should always be rewarded before skills. Continue to acknowledge any struggles and validate their feelings.

Highlight the relationship between learning and “brain training”

The brain is like a muscle that needs to be worked out, just like the body. And like every other muscle in our body. It grows.

Cultivate “grit“

If you develop grit, you’ll be more likely to seek approval from yourself rather than others. And in turn, so will your kids

Abandon the image

“Naturally smart” sounds just about as believable as “spontaneous generation.” You won’t achieve the image if you’re not ready for the work.

Use the word “yet”

Dweck says “not yet” has become one of her favorite phrases. Whenever you see yourself struggling with a task, just remind yourself that you haven’t mastered it yet. This is one of the core basic concepts of creating a growth mindset. It’s with good reason! It is one of the best, fastest and easiest ways to shift negative mindsets.

Learn from other people’s mistakes

It’s not always wise to compare yourself to others, but it is important to realize that humans share the same weaknesses. If your children or students have siblings, encourage them to use their mistakes or setbacks as an opportunity to practice a positive mindset.

Make a new goal for every goal accomplished

No one will ever be done learning. Growth-minded people know how to constantly create new goals to keep themselves stimulated.

Take risks in the company of others

Stop trying to save face and give yourself permission to goof up now and then. It will make it easier to take risks in the future!

Think realistically about time and effort

It takes time to learn. Don’t expect to master every topic under the sun in one sitting. #imsuperguiltyofthis *shoulder shrug*

Take ownership over your attitude

Once you develop a growth mindset, own it! Acknowledge yourself as someone who possesses a growth mentality and be proud to let it guide you throughout your educational career.

Acknowledge and embrace imperfections

Hiding from your weaknesses means you’ll never overcome them.

View challenges as opportunities

Having a growth mindset means relishing opportunities for self-improvement.

Try different learning tactics

There’s no one-size-fits-all model for learning. What works for one person may not work for you (or your children.)

Keep up with brain plasticity research

Stay connected with new research and data as it is discovered and developed. (you know, for the naysayers)

Replace the word “failing” with the word “learning”

When you make a mistake or fall short of a goal, you haven’t failed; you’ve learned something new.

Stop seeking approval

When you prioritize approval over learning, you sacrifice your own potential for growth.

Value the process over the end result

Intelligent people enjoy the learning process and don’t mind when it continues beyond an expected time frame.

Cultivate a sense of purpose.

Dweck’s research also showed that students with a growth mindset had a greater sense of purpose. Keep the big picture in mind. You have a PURPOSE. You matter.

Celebrate growth with others

If you truly appreciate growth, you’ll want to share your progress with others.

Everything in life requires hard work, not talent alone!

Growth Mindset Journals for Kids & Moms

Cultivating a growth mindset doesn’t happen overnight. But, it certainly doesn’t take forever either. However, with diligence and opportunity, it’ll come MUCH faster. I’ve created a growth mindset journal for both myself and my littles after spending hours scouring the internet for suitable ones.

My kiddos are both under ten and I wanted something that would work for both a big toddler and a child. And I couldn’t find anything that

1. Didn’t cost an arm and leg for what I was getting in return and

2. Was suitable for BOTH of my kids and

3. Was complete with everything I needed and not just ABC, then having to purchase more products to fill the gaps.

So when I couldn’t find it, I created my own.

And because my readers are my favorite people (seriously, I appreciate you sticking around and listening to what I’ve got to say)

I want to gift them to you for an insanely low price. You won’t find this offer anywhere else>

GET IT NOW

15 + Animated Growth Mindset Movies For The Family

• Inside Out: Story of a girl who harnesses her emotions in a positive way by growing through hardship

• Brave: Story of a princess who looks past tradition to see a new future

• Trolls: Story of creatures who have a positive outlook on finding the way out of their peril

• Finding Nemo: Story of a father who is persistent in then journey to find his son

• Finding Dory: Story of a daughter (fish) who is persistent in finding her parents

• Storks: A journey pf a human girl that stops at nothing to deliver another baby & return to where she belongs

• The Little Prince: Story of determined mother that enforces perfectionism on her daughter. A daughter fights to go against it and live a happy life

• Zootopia: Story of a determined rabbit to break tradition, barriers and glass ceilings to pursue her dream job

• Sing: Story of an elephant that overcomes her fear of public singing

• Moana: Story of a girl going against her culture to chase after old family traditions and finds purpose

• Coco: Story of a boy who longs to express his heart through music which goes against his family’s traditions only to find that his true longing is his family’s culture.

• Leap!: Story of a girl that’s determined to run after her dreams, no matter what it takes.

• Frozen: Story of a girl learning to control her magical powers and how it affects everyone around her.

• Up: Story of a husband determined to keep his promise to his wife no matter what.

• Wall-E: The journey of a robot who lives to clean a deserted world.

• Piper: Story of a reluctant bird that shies away from the status quo, only to discover he can redefine it.

Growth Mindset Books for Kids Under 10

Some of our family’s favorite growth mindset books are: (not necessarily in this order) 

• My Beautiful Oops: This is a fantastic story of artwork gone “wrong”
• The Crayons That Quit:
• The Dot: A beautiful story of a girl that creates and finds her ability to be creative

There are a ton more- Click this post here for MORE GROWTH MINDSET BOOKS & summaries as well as direct links to the books.

Growth Mindset Posters

Here are some growth mindset posters for you FREE!

Videos to Understand How Growth Mindset Works

Here’s an introduction to the brain:

https://youtu.be/rf8FX2sI3gU

Understand Growth Mindset:
https://youtu.be/I2ttL1kgZRk

Understand The Neuroscience Behind It:
https://youtu.be/ELpfYCZa87g

Examples of Famous Failures That Support Growth Mindset:
https://youtu.be/zLYECIjmnQs

Growth Mindset VS Fixed Mindset:
https://youtu.be/75GFzikmRY0

Develop a Growth Mindset:
https://youtu.be/2zrtHt3bBmQ

“In one world, effort is a bad thing. It, like failure, means you’re not smart or talented. If you were, you wouldn’t need effort. In the other world, effort is what makes you smart or talented.”

Carol Dweck

87 Famous Failures That Support The Growth Mindset

1. Ada Lovelace
2. Amelia Earhart
3. Audrey Hepburn
4. Aung San Suu Kyi
5. Bessie Coleman
6. Betty Holberton
7. Beyonce
8. Billie Holiday
9. Billie Jean King
10. Danica Patrick
11. Ellen Degeneres
12. Florence Nightingale
13. Frida Kahlo
14. Harriet Tubman
15. Helen Keller
16. Indira Gandhi
17. Jane Goodall
18. J.K. Rowling
19. Joan of Arc
20. Julia Child
21. Katherine Johnson
22. Katie Ledecky
23. Lindsey Vonn
24. Lisa Leslie
25. Lucille Ball
26. Mae Jemison
27. Malala Yousafzai
28. Marie Curie
29. Maya Angelou
30. Mia Hamm
31. Michelle Kwan
32. Michelle Obama
33. Misty Copeland
34. Oprah Winfrey
35. Rosa Parks
36. Ruth Bader Ginsburg
37. Sally Ride
38. Serena Williams
39. Simone Biles
40. Sojourner Truth
41. Sonia Sotomayor
42. Whoopi Goldberg
43. Wilma Rudolph
44. Abraham Lincoln
45. Alan Turing
46. Albert Einstein
47. Alexander Graham Bell
48. Aristotle
49. Arthur Ashe
50. Barack Obama
51. Benjamin Franklin
52. Bill Gates
53. Bruce Lee
54. Cesar Chavez
55. David Beckham
56. Fred Rogers
57. Henry Ford
58. Ichiro Suzuki
59. Isaac Newton
60. Jackie Robinson
61. Jesse Owens
62. Jim Henson
63. John McCain
64. Leonardo Da Vinci
65. Mahatma Gandhi
66. Martin Luther King Jr.
67. Michael Jordan
68. Michael Phelps
69. Muhammad Ali
70. Neil Armstrong
71. Pablo Picasso
72. Peyton Manning
73. Roberto Clemente
74. Shel Silverstein
75. Stan Lee
76. Steph Curry
77. Stephen Hawking
78. Steve Jobs
79. Steven Spielberg
80. Thurgood Marshall
81. Usain Bolt
82. Allyson Felix
83. Walt Disney
84. Wayne Gretzky
85. William Shakespeare
86. Winston Churchill
87. Wright Brothers

Growth Mindset Quotes From “Famous Failures”

You never fail until you stop trying.

Albert Einstein

NOthing is impossible. The word itself says “I’m possible”

Audrey Hepburn

If you’re feeling helpless, help someone.

Aung San Suu Kyu

Yes, we can.

Barack Obama

We do not need magic to transform our world. We can carry all the power we need inside ourselves.

J.K. Rowling

Click here for More Growth Mindset Quotes

How to Use The Power of Yet

The term “yet” as I’ve mentioned is such a powerful term. It releases this feeling of hope and positivity. As one can feel confident in the idea that they can grow, learn and discover new things.

How To Foster a Growth Mindset In Your Homeschool

Portray criticism as positive

You don’t have to use that hackneyed term, “constructive criticism,” but you DO have to believe in the concept.

Disassociate improvement from failure

Stop assuming that “room for improvement” translates into failure. It doesn’t.

Provide regular opportunities for reflection

Allow your kids to reflect on their learning.

Place effort before talent

Hard work should always be rewarded before inherent skills.

Highlight the relationship between learning and “brain training”

The brain is like a muscle that needs to be worked out, just like the body.

Cultivate grit

Kids with that extra bit of determination will be more likely to seek approval from themselves rather than others.

Abandon the image

Whatever prenotions your kids have worked up in their minds about being “smart,” Teach them to #Fahgeddaboutem.

Always add the term”yet“

Whenever you or your child hits a stumbling block or there’s something you can’t do. Remember “yet” and add that to the end of ALL your phrases. I can’t do such and such, YET.

Learn from other people’s mistakes

It’s almost never wise to compare yourself to others, but it is important to realize that everyone can learn from other people’s experiences and mistakes.

Make a new goal every time you accomplish a goal

Just like I tell my kiddos, we’re always students and we’ll never be done learning. Try not to toss a subject to the side simply because you aren’t required to “know” it anymore. Growth-minded people know how to constantly create new goals to keep themselves stimulated.

Take risks in the company of others

It’s easy to take risks when we’re alone and no one can judge us! Get comfortable taking risks around others as well.

Think realistically about time and effort

It takes time to learn. It takes time to pump out a quality project. Don’t expect to master every topic under the sun in one sitting.

Take ownership of your attitude

Once you develop a growth mindset, own it. Acknowledge yourself as someone who possesses a growth mentality and be proud to let it guide you throughout your life.

Modeling a growth mindset means being willing to try hard even when failure is likely because that’s when massive growth happens. For example, parents should try to get excited when their children make mistakes because these mistakes can reveal important gaps that should be filled.

When adults get excited about “learning” and making mistakes, children start to think of mistakes as a natural part of the learning process. (and leads to changes in learning behavior overall) Your children will become less likely to try and “sweep mistakes under the rug” because they’ll stop thinking of them as something to be ashamed of and see it as a learning experience.

Focus on Tasks that Require Perseverance

Never try to lower the standards for your children. Or “help” them too much. No one understands how easy this can be while homeschooling better than me. So be on the lookout for it. The last thing you want is to raise a child that feels entitled to easy work.

Now, I assume you’ve done this already but be sure to teach your child about how their brain works and how they can grow their brains. And if you need help doing this, be sure to grab our Growth Mindset Bundle for Kids from our shop.

Reflect On Your Own Biases

When you’re teaching your kids, it’s so easy to get frustrated with their inability to grasp a concept and revert to fixed mindset language. Like- “____ wasn’t born with it so I won’t waste my time. It’s easy for parents to hide their own lack of ability behind statements like these. So, it’s important to have honest reflections with yourself, and ideally with each other, about our own biases. Remember, it’s okay for your child to be stuck. That’s when the best learning is done. Praise effort and persistence.

Best Affirmations to Teach Growth Mindset

We celebrate making mistakes – we can learn from them

We never give up – perseverance is the key if we are to succeed

We learn from each other

We don’t compare ourselves with others

We challenge ourselves and take risks

We remember that our brains are making new connections and growing all the time

Praise the amount of effort your child is putting into things rather than how clever they are

Talk to your children about their brain being like a muscle – the more they use it, the stronger it gets

Encourage your children to not give up if they are finding something difficult

Challenge your children to try something new

Growth Mindset Fun

A beautiful 100-page coloring book!

You can purchase this Growth Mindset Coloring Book for Kids and Adults! here.

Is Growth Mindset Real Science or Pseudoscience?

I’ll be honest and say I’m still unsure. The funny thing about Pseudoscience is that it’s too “slippery” to disprove. And so, we have to let time reveal its truth. I’ve spent hours upon hours researching this topic. Here are a few articles worth reading that may pique your interest:

• This person isn’t sold on this mindset

• This guy appears on the fence too…

• & here’s the wired’s quick and dirty view

Grab Your Growth Mindset Journal Now!

Growth mindset does not equal toxic positivity, rather it is the acceptance and realization that failure and challenges are a part of growth

Growth Mindset Books for Kids

Growth mindset books for kids are a fantastic way to shift and reset their mindsets. At some point or another, every child will face challenges. Heck, even adults do. As an avid reader and book lover, I can’t begin to tell you how beneficial books are to our kids. Books provide a fun, thought-provocating, tangible way to understand people and the world around us. There is a ton of opportunity for your kids to read when they struggle with obstacles and negative thoughts. 

One amazing way to support kids that think negatively is to help them develop a positive mindset. More specifically, a “growth mindset.” In short, a growth mindset helps us learn from our struggles to build perseverance, resilience, and confidence. Instead of viewing mistakes as a “bad” thing, we look at them as a marvelous mistake that helps us move forward! 

 Are you looking for more ways to cultivate a growth mindset in your kids? Sign up for my email list – where I share one parenting tip each week – and I’ll send you this growth mindset affirmations printout as a FREE gift. Hang it up anywhere in your home as a way to reinforce a growth mindset in your kids. Click the image below to sign-up and download it now. 

So, what exactly is a growth mindset again?

Parents and children with a growth mindset believe that they can GROW and improve anything with effort, hard work, and persistence. In essence, they think they can learn anything if they just KEEP TRYING. Families with a positive growth mindset think of failures as a challenge and a way to grow instead of a finite roadblock or dead end. 

As you can see, it’s so important to empower our kids to make mistakes and “fail often.” It’s in those failures where we live, grow, and enjoy the journey. 

Years ago, before the term “growth mindset” became the ever-growing buzzword of the decade, I noticed I had this recurring negative thinking going on. It was a fascinating thing! Somehow, no matter the situation, I could usually think or find a negative or pessimistic perspective. The gift of gloom, let’s say. Unfortunately, most of us develop these mindsets and attitudes as they are cultivated and passed down from our parent’s parenting. 

What’s a fixed mindset?

Well, if you’re a natural or newly developed pollyanna, then you’ll do great, Mama! But, if you’re not as I suspect or else, you wouldn’t be here reading this post, fret not. You can reframe your thoughts and leave negative nelly behind! I know because I’ve done it, and if i can, you certainly can too.  

I know how important it is to lead well and parent well as those cute little munchkins watch you and take notes like an aggressive news reporter. LOL, Let’s break the cycle of negativity and help our kids develop a positive mindset. 

Changing the way we talk to ourselves and our kids is the first step to putting a growth mindset into practice. 

Want to know the next best way? Yup, reading great books on the subject! If you’re ready to understand this concept even more- check out the massive list of growth mindset books below.

If your children struggle with fear of failure, perfectionism, taking (safe) risks, or acting with courage, grab these books. 

After reading hundreds of books to my kiddos (and counting!), these books were winners. These books use inspirational stories to provide powerful lessons to understand the concept of a growth mindset. 

Here’s the list of my FAVORITE growth mindset books for kids:

Jabari Jumps

The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes 

The Dot 

Rosie Revere Engineer 

Ada Twist Scientist

She Persisted  

Ish

The Little Engine That Could

Oh, The Places You’ll Go

Giraffes Can’t Dance

Your Fantastic Elastic Brain

The Most Magnificent Thing

The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes

Beautiful Oops

The Day The Crayons Quit

Pete The Cat: I Love My White Shoes

Darling Steps: Growth Mindset Journal

Our very own guided journal is a growth mindset journal created specifically for children. It’s filled with quotes, illustrations, writing prompts, activities, posters, and more! Children explore essential topics like resilience, confidence, perseverance, staying positive, and learning from failure. 

If you’d like more growth mindset resources- grab these FREE growth mindset coloring sheets. Then, I’ll send you more tips and resources to help you and your kids. Click the image below???????? 

Click Below to Read More Related Growth Mindset Posts for Kids and Parents:

Raising Kids with a Growth Mindset

Growth Mindset Activities for Kids

“I Can’t Do That Yet” Growth Mindset

Growth Mindset Books for Teachers

Growth Mindset Books for Parents

Growth Mindset Affirmations

Growth Mindset Printables

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How To Raise Grateful Children:

It can be so challenging nowadays to teach thankfulness and gratitude in a world full of ‘deservers.’

I sometimes think especially as parents, it can be tough to admit or even notice when we have a selfish deserving spirit as well.

What comes to mind immediately for me is my mother. I grew up poor with minimal financial resources in NYC. So as you can imagine, it was easy for us to focus on the things we didn’t have or ‘needed’ instead of focusing on what we already had.   I can vividly remember my mother playing the lotto in *hopes* she may win…Or how we would work so hard to save money for nice ‘things.’ And constantly visualizing the items we could have one day.   Now, as a parent, I see how unhealthy this is for our children.  

Here are a few ways we can cultivate gratitude in our kid’s lives:

Teach them how to be thankful

Not to always have a ‘wanting’ spirit. Gratefulness. Gratitude. I think it can be quite tricky these days to train a child to show appreciation.

  Instructing our children to be specific in their gratefulness can allow them to hone in on what they have received! So, with my oldest, I’ll have her say- Thank you, Daddy, for taking me out for ice cream! Oppose to her prior normal- Thanks, Dad! (after having her cup of gelato)

Teach and be clear on the differences between wants and needs

Showing our kids the difference between needs and desires is so important.

  It’ll help them build awareness of the world around them and teach empathy and compassion along the way. Demonstrating our needs first as a priority will help prepare our kids on how to budget and what’s most important overall.

Teach God’s word

Since I follow Christ, I think it’s crucial to help my kids read, learn, and interpret the Bible.

  We believe it’s the infallible word of God. And if you’re Jesus girl too, then you know what I mean. Teaching our kids what He says, means so much more than what we could ever say or demand.

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

“I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds” (Psalms 9:1)

Teach about poverty

This one is one of my favorites.

I firmly believe that everyone should have the experience of serving others in surroundings other than their own.

  Poverty-stricken surroundings, areas lost of hope, etc. Do you know what I mean? ‘Those’ neighborhoods…

Teach patience…Learn to wait!

Oh, this is a BIG one!

  I never realized how much I was hurting our daughter by NOT teaching this…I was ignoring (not purposely) such a crucial area for growth. You see, before we had our second daughter, I never had a pressing reason to make my child “wait.” If she was hungry, bored, tired, frustrated-whatever it was, I tended to her needs immediately, because there honestly wasn’t a reason not too. But, oh, how awful this was! I quickly learned (as my husband pressed on about this) that she wasn’t developed in the ‘waiting patiently’ area (he was right…again! lol)

Parenting is a learning curve.

  I truly believe as we raise up arrows, we are also cultivating a learning heart within ourselves.   So take heart

xoxo

Sheree

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