Dealing with Failure: A Crucial Step to Learning

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Dealing with FailureA Crucial step to learning

Most kids are afraid to fail, and we naturally want our kids to succeed. But what if we recognized failure is good and a crucial step on the path to learning?

It’s important to practice failing gracefully and practice picking yourself up, dusting yourself off, and trying again to achieve your goals. Here are some ways to help kids learn how to deal with failure and turn it into an opportunity to grow and learn.

  • Encourage your child to try challenging activities. Work with them to problem-solve and embrace opportunities to learn from failure.
  • Start using the acronym for FAIL – First Attempt In Learning.
  • Emphasize “failing forward” – which simply means learning from mistakes. Ask questions like, “What did you learn from this?” or “What would you do differently next time?”
  • Practice dealing with feelings in the moment of failure. Practice techniques for responding to strong feelings such as breathing exercises, taking a step back to calm down, or taking a moment to step away from the situation.
  • Ask questions like “What mistakes did you make today that taught you something?” or “What did you try today that was hard?” “What new strategies did you try?”
  • Practice praising your child for effort, strategies, progress, hard work, persistence, rising to a challenge, learning from mistakes, etc.
  • Be aware of your own reaction to failure or mistakes.

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