Facing Challenges Head On - Teaching Perseverance for Kids

One of the most difficult things for any human being to accomplish is perseverance. The ability to keep going, even when things get tough, doesn't tend to come naturally to most of us. 

However, there are ways that you can teach your kids perseverance from an early age and that setbacks don't mean it's over. Just that it's time to try something else and work harder.  

Expectations

Let's start with what your child expects the outcome of the task to be. Are they excited about the task? Or are you pushing them to do it? Who expects more of a result? Have you been realistic about your child's abilities, time available or passion for the task? 

If you carefully consider these before embarking on any kind of challenge, you and your little one will be set up for a realistic outcome and your child won't be deterred from future tasks.  

Teach By Doing

If your child sees you give up easily they are more likely to mimic that as appropriate behaviour. Set an example and show them that you can push through anything with hard work and determination.  

Teach a Growth Mindset

Growth mindsets are an extremely important part of modern-day parenting. There are a variety of books, games and media you can expose your child to that will help them develop a growth mindset. 

This means instilling a sense of hard work paying off.

A simple fact that can put hard work in perspective is the 10,000-hour rule. That if you practice anything for 10,000 hours you will be an expert at it.  

Listening

Finally, listen to your child. If they want to give up on an activity or task, don't force them to continue. This can make them feel resentment towards the activity and towards challenges. It’s important to find the line between honouring a commitment and feeling worried about it. 

Listen to them, find out why they want to quit and try to come up with a solution. Maybe ballet isn't for them but they'd like to try jazz or tap? Being and feeling listened to is important in building your respectful relationship with each other.