“Perseverance often makes the critical distinction between whether kids succeed or fail. Will they have the inner strength to keep on or be plagued by self-defeat, be unwilling to give it their best shot? Children who learn to bounce back and not let setbacks get them down have gained a valuable skill for life. If our children are to succeed in this competitive world, they must learn to hang in there and not quit. The good news? Research shows parents can build ‘stick-to-it-ness’ by adopting simple, proven strategies.”

I found many helpful suggestions in this article, from setting the right age-appropriate expectations when kids start activities and how to be a good role model when things get tough, to what to do with your child wants to quit and a variety of ideas along the way. I had to do a double-take when I read, “Praising effort stretches perseverance; praising ability squelches it” regarding the “praising ability squelches” or the “you’re so smart” comments as things to avoid, and why, but the suggestions in this area (i.e. “try this instead ____”) made a lot of sense.

Also covered were topics such as when it might be best to actually allow the child to quit in certain situations, and if you see a pattern of quitting — regarding the need to dig deeper to determine what might actually be going on.

Here is the article: How To Teach Your Child Perseverance

The article is by Dr. Michele Borba, an educational psychologist, parenting expert, TODAY show contributor and author of 22 books.

I am glad I stumbled upon this article and will be integrating some of these suggestions into our family dynamics over the next few weeks.

I found this article on the @DailyParentTip twitter account under a message called “Teaching Tenacity”.