Growth Mindset at Home
What is a Growth Mindset? A growth mindset is the belief that abilities can improve
with practice, effort, and learning from mistakes. Families can support this mindset by
encouraging curiosity, persistence, and resilience.
Growth Mindset Language Cheat Sheet
Instead of: 'This is too hard.'
Instead of: 'I made a mistake.'
Try: 'This may take time.'
Try: 'Mistakes help me grow.'
Instead of: 'I can't do this.'
Instead of: 'You’re so smart.'
Try: 'I can’t do this yet.'
Try: 'You worked really hard on that!'
Instead of: 'I'm not good at this.'
Instead of: 'That’s good enough.'
Try: 'I'm still learning.'
Try: 'What can you improve next
time?'
Tips for Supporting a Growth Mindset at Home
• Celebrate effort, not perfection.
• Normalize mistakes and talk about what they teach us.
• Ask reflective questions like “What challenge did you tackle today?”
• Model trying new things and talking through struggles out loud.
• Encourage perseverance and small, achievable goals.