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66 sats \ 1 reply \ @Scoresby 5 Jul \ on: Do you have a Growth Mindset? AskSN
I was raised with a light version of this: you can do anything. Looking back from what is approaching mid-life, I feel that it wasn't terribly helpful.
At least in the version of US culture in which I was raised, it lacked an emphasis on how one made good decisions about what the "anything" was. It's one thing to tell kids they can achieve anything, but it's a much different thing to help them figure out what is worth trying to achieve.
With my own children, I'm trying to emphasis a "you can just do things" attitude (we don't need to wait for approval, or further education, or certification, or permission) and a lot of conversation about what things we think people do that are useful for the rest of the world.
I will also say I often feel like I'm failing at inculcating these ideas in them.
I read before that there was a point in time when adults in the US would give children trophies just for participation as a means of boosting the latter’s self-esteem. Does this still happen?
I think telling children that they can achieve anything without building up real competencies could be more detrimental than beneficial ‘cos their self-esteem isn’t based on anything concrete.
You may be doing better than you think. It sometimes takes years for one’s teachings to sink in a child’s mind. Maybe those conversations are being blended in their minds right now!
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