Even our preschoolers benefit from the routine and structure of school. Preschool provides a consistent environment to encourage play and learning to prepare our kids for kindergarten, but as parents how do we prepare their minds? Our kids need encouragement and praise!
Research shows that praising effort over intelligence or talent, produces high achievers (Dweck 2007). Praising our children for intelligence can actually hurt motivation and performance. We all want our kids to have the “Kandoo” attitude so let’s fill their minds with “success supplies” and praise their effort!
Ways to Increase our Children’s Motivation and Performance in School and Life:
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- Teach your child that EFFORT is the key to success in life.
- Share your success stories that emphasize hard work.
- Praise your child for sticking to a task that took focus and hard work.
- Encourage your child to try something new and challenging.
- Help your child associate mistakes with learning NOT failure.
- Read books together that have themes of hard work and success.
- Teach your child that the brain is like a muscle and will get stronger with use.
- Tell your child that she is her brain’s agent and only she has the power to improve it!
Simple Ways to Praise:
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- “Way to stick with it!”
- “I am so proud of your hard work!”
- “It was so great to see you trying something new even when it wasn’t easy.”
- “I was impressed by how much time you took to figure this out!”
So remember it is never too early to talk to our kids about their effort! Praising effort will help your child be successful in school and life!
