Learning from Mistakes: Why We Need to Let Children Fail

No one likes to fail. We know how it feels – it’s a disappointing experience that can often leave us feeling extremely discouraged. However, we also recognise that failure can often be a good thing because we can learn from our mistakes, which may help us do better next time. That’s why it’s so important to teach your kids this same mentality. Here are some reasons why we need to let our children fail and how it can actually benefit them.

It Makes Children Stronger and More Resilient

If your child doesn’t get the results they want, with the right encouragement you can change their view from disappointed to even more determined to succeed next time. Even though at first they will probably feel slightly discouraged and frustrated with themselves, often this can follow with a burst of motivation and strength to try again and focus on a better outcome. As parents it’s important to support them in finding this strength to try again, rather than encouraging feelings of disappointment.

Kids Learn So Much From Their Mistakes

Even though failing doesn’t always feel great, it’s a fantastic learning opportunity for children. In fact, every time a child fails, they’re just learning another way it doesn’t work. Encouraging a growth mindset like this, rather than seeing every failure as a negative, is how people become successful. Instead of letting your kids dwell on their failings, it’s important you inspire them to find the strength to try again and solve the problem. This is what helps your children grow and move outside of their comfort zone.

It Helps Children Realise Everyone Has Different Strengths

Failure can be an efficient but often harsh teacher. One of the many lessons your kids will learn from their failures and other people’s failures is that everyone has different strengths and no one can be good at everything. For example, if your child isn’t very good at football – does that mean they should just give up on sports all together? Of course not! Just because they might not be good at one sport doesn’t mean they are going to fail at all sports – they just have different abilities and strengths. The sooner your child learns this the better. As parents encourage your kids to try lots of different things until they find something they enjoy and teach them through failure and disappointment, our true strengths are often revealed.

Listen to our Podcast all about the importance of developing a growth mindset for children, why failing is so important, and how it’s crucial for a student’s success.

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