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Have you ever seen a one year old who gives up when learning how to walk?

No, they get back up.

What happens that we start giving up?

Or let’s look at it another way.

What happens along the way - when we start to think we failed at something…and stop getting back up?

Failure means the lack of success or the inability to meet expectations.

Setting realistic expectations for our kids is about seeing them grow and helping them grow in their own special way. We need to find the right time to raise the bar for our kids and guide them to setting their expectations as well.

Kids are born with no expectations, but full of curiosities.

So, is failure learned, developed, or passed on like a hot potato?

Is it about the expectations we set for kids or about kids losing the capacity to make mistakes?

A bit of both.

Kids are frightened of being wrong; of failing.

The thing is, we need to make mistakes to earn and get creative.

​Sir Ken Robinson said, “I believe this passionately that we don't grow into creativity, we grow out of it, or rather we get educated out.”

It’s not that making mistakes and failing makes us creative, but what we do with failure can drive creativity.

How do we guide kids to manage failure & keep that creative spark lit?

1. Failing forward: Instead of failing downwards, fail forward. Teach your kids that leveraging on their mistakes can get them forward and help them grow.

2. Focus on Growth Mindset:

Instead of “I don’t know this!” try “I don't know this yet!”

Instead of “I can’t do this” try “ I am practicing this”

3. Redefine what FAIL means: First Attempt in Learning. Its about how we view failure. Intead of thinking about failure as a sinking ship lets view failure as Airboat.

4. Allow Mistakes. When we let kids experience failur early on, we are preparing to deal with, even avoid, bigger ones later.

5. Teach self-compassion. Self-compassion helps children overcome challenges, learn from their mistakes, and bounce back from adversity in a healthy way.

Failing can be seen as a sinking Titanic or it can be seen as a Airboat.

How we view and embrace failure will help our kids learn from their mistakes or drown with them.

This is all for this week.

Thank you always for reading and supporting The MindSwitch Mondays.

If you found this useful share with your friends!

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Until next Monday!

Alexandra

Follow me on my social media adventures as education evolves!