How to Teach a Growth Mindset to Kids

Growth mindset is the belief that abilities can be developed through effort. The opposite — fixed mindset — is the belief that you either have a talent or you don't. Kids with growth mindsets persist longer on hard tasks, recover better from failure, and grow academically faster. The research on this is robust.

The single most important thing you can do is change the words you use when praising. Instead of 'you're so clever', say 'you worked really hard on that'. Instead of 'you're a natural reader', say 'I noticed you kept going even when that word was tricky'. This tiny shift, repeated consistently, trains the child to value effort over innate ability — which is the whole basis of growth mindset.

The same applies when they fail. Instead of 'don't worry, you're not a maths person', say 'that one was hard — what could you try differently next time?'. That question turns a failure into a learning opportunity and reinforces the belief that ability grows. Both of these moves are small. Done over years, they're transformative.