How to help your child learn from their mistakes at school

Mistakes are not a reflection of who we are or what we’re capable of. Just because a person fails—whether it’s once or several times—doesn’t mean they’re any less valuable. It’s important that your child understands this. When they experience failure, you can boost their self-esteem by focusing on the following:

• Their qualities
• Their strengths
• Their progress
• Etc.

Being wrong is like receiving a second chance. If your child views their mistakes as opportunities to learn, they’ll quickly improve and progress. For example, a mistake can encourage them to do the following:

• Do things differently in the future (e.g., study more, better manage their stress)
• Find different ways to reach their goal (e.g., try a new strategy, do things in a different order)
• Change their objectives (e.g., set more realistic or motivating goals)
• Etc.

Plenty of important, world-altering scientific discoveries occurred by accident. Consider penicillin and X-rays! On a smaller scale, school mistakes can also be illuminating. For instance, they can help your child learn more about the following:

• Their ability to retain information
• Their attention span
• Their strengths
• Their weaknesses
• Their most effective strategies for staying organized
• Etc.

Mistakes are challenges in disguise! To overcome them, your child can do the following:

• Go over the problem to understand their mistake
• Find ways to improve
• Keep things in perspective
• Learn self-forgiveness
• Etc.

Everyone makes mistakes. Have you ever heard the saying, “To err is human”? Well, it’s true! Even the most skilled experts mess up sometimes, so there’s no need for your child to be discouraged or embarrassed. To prove it, you can point out mistakes made by people they admire:

• “Did you see that? Even a player like Adam Larsson can score in his own net!”
• “The first time I baked a cake, I used ground mustard instead of nutmeg!”
• “Isaac Newton made a huge calculation error that nobody noticed for 300 years! Can you imagine?”
• Etc.