Foster an attitude of success in your child this school year

Henry Ford said it best: “If you think you can—or you think you can’t—you’re right.” But how can you foster an attitude of success in your child?

One strategy is to give your child positive, accurate feedback. Kids make slow progress. Learning to ride a bike, or divide by seven, doesn’t happen overnight.

Here are three steps to take to help your child see that he can succeed:

1. Tell your child the progress you’ve seen. You could say, “The way you describe Grandpa’s workshop in your writing makes me feel like I’m there.” Or, “That drawing of the human heart helps me see exactly how blood moves.”
2. Link your child’s success with his own effort. “You stuck with that math problem. Now you found the right answer.” “You took the time to copy over that book report. It’s much neater—and you corrected a few misspelled words.”
3. Give your child confidence to take the next step. Sometimes, kids need a little boost if they’re having trouble. So remind your child of a time when his effort paid off. “Remember how you worked until you memorized your times tables? I’ll bet the same thing will work for learning states and capitals.”
   You’ll build your child’s belief that he can succeed. You’ll also help him recognize successful ways to solve problems.

Reprinted with permission from the September 2007 issue of Parents make the difference!® (Elementary School Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2007 The Parent Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc. Source: Deborah Stipek and Kathy Seal, Motivated Minds: Raising Children to Love Learning, ISBN: 0-805-06395-1 (Owl Books, 1-888-330-8477, www.henryholt.com).