Ways To Teach Your Kids To Embrace Failure
We all want our children to have the very best in life. But they will fail and make mistakes, and that can be a tough pill to swallow—for them and us! As much as I would do anything to prevent it, failing can teach my kids so much about their courage, strength, and resilience. It’s a necessary part of learning.
And if we look at our own lives, it’s very true! Think about the times you’ve failed and the wisdom you’ve gained. Teaching our kids coping skills now will benefit them so much as they get older and go through all the challenges life offers.
Here are ways to teach your kids to embrace failure to prepare them for bigger hurdles down the road.
Encourage a Growth Mindset
A growth mindset is the belief that good things happen due to hard work and perseverance, not innate abilities. Fostering a growth mindset in our children can help them push through the hard stuff and get to the other side. Kids with a growth mindset will turn their failures into learning opportunities.
Let Failure Happen
Allowing my kids to falter right in front of me is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. I want to help them! But the best thing I can do for them is to let failure happen sometimes. Even though some parents believe that avoiding all pitfalls is good parenting, I’m afraid I have to disagree. Allowing your child the freedom to fail will teach them how to cope with more minor problems now and the bigger ones later in life.
Explain Why Failing Is Good
Explaining why is failing is good can help your child process their failures and grow from them when they happen. Some ways to do that are:
- Use metaphors like the Learning Pit to help frame challenges into a game for your kids.
- I like to tell my kids their brain is growing every time they guess a wrong answer or become frustrated when trying to answer a challenging math question.
- You can also teach them mindfulness with the RAIN approach when they experience big emotions such as sadness or anger.
Celebrate the Failure
One of the best ways to teach your kids to embrace failure is to celebrate any defeats. Tell them they’re falling towards their goal. Give them hugs and high-fives. Teach them to celebrate their mistakes and what they learned. Supporting your child with kindness when they fail will teach them to be kind to themselves when they need it the most.
We all want the absolute best for our children. Framing failures as stepping stones to success is a way to do that. Giving your child the confidence and freedom to fail will help them grow into capable and resilient adults.
