We’ve discussed the Fixed versus Growth mindset model on the blog a few times.
It’s something worth noting and considering in many aspects of parenting.
But keeping the principles in mind when helping your kids pick VCE electives can be particularly beneficial for their long-term goals.
A recent article in The Atlantic discusses how a Fixed mindset inadvertently affects our children in their future study choices.
We tend to think of school as the main source of our children’s education.
However, for many children, formal classroom time only takes up around 20 per cent of their lives!
And while it’s the role of teachers to take charge of your children’s education, there’s so much you can do to encourage learning and important cognitive developments outside of school.
And the supermarket — surprisingly — is a great place to start.
An interesting article in The Age recently brought up concerns regarding parents who may be unnecessarily anxious about their children’s health.
The article cited a recent survey that showed that 75 per cent of pediatric specialists said many of their referrals could have been handled exclusively by the referring GP.
The relevant issue at hand here is that parents are increasingly seeking out specialist support for normal issues in childhood development…
Common issues such as bed-wetting, constipation, and even concerns about their children’s height.
This speaks to an increasing anxiety among parents, and their quest to ensure their child is developing ‘normally’.
Understandably, this kind of pattern of anxious parenting comes up not only in the physical development of the child, but also their emotional and psychological development.
So how can we know when we’re self- or over-diagnosing our children?
Bullying is likely to affect your child during some part of their young lives.
In fact, Government-funded research showed that one in four students will encounter bullying during their school years.
Yet the frequency with which bullying occurs doesn’t diminish the significance of its impact.
And as heartbreaking as it can be when your own child is the victim of bullying, learning that they may be the perpetrator can be an even bitterer pill to swallow.
But when it comes to bullying — on whichever side of the coin — it’s important to address the issues at hand, as soon as possible.
So what should we consider when we think our own child may be the bully?
If you saw our blog post about how to raise motivated children, you will be familiar with the concept of the ‘Fixed’ versus ‘Growth’ mindset.
In a nutshell, this distinction in ‘mindsets’ focuses on the idea that what makes people successful is motivation, dedication and commitment, rather than innate ability or intelligence.
And that the former are the qualities that we should be praising and instilling in our children.
A recent article in The Atlantic furthers some of the ideas that come from the Fixed versus Growth mindset model, in what one parent describes as the ‘crime against learning’.
Our aim with this blog is to help individuals with some of the challenges that come with being a parent or caretaker.
We aim to give professional, impartial and educated advice from our team of psychologists, while citing credible sources and expert references from around the world.
But even if you’re not looking for it and not on this blog, you — like so many others — are likely inundated with parenting advice from every man and their dog on a daily basis… in the news, on social media, from other parents, or from overheard conversations in cafes!
It’s no wonder that seeking out parenting advice, in general, can be a very overwhelming experience.
So a recent article in The New York Times brings up a single, inspiring piece of advice that can be universal to all concerned parents:
Stop thinking everything you do is wrong.
Many children (and adults!) will try to ‘chuck a sickie’ once in their lives.
But when the parents are in control, how can you tell when a sick day from school is justified?
There are a number of issues that come into play.
In a recent blog post, we discussed the issue of family favouritism.
We wanted to reassure parents that having a favourite is part of human nature (and not the same as loving one child more or less than another), and should not be a source of guilt or shame.
What’s important is how you act on your inclination towards one child or the other.
Giving overt extra attention to one child over another can result in cries of ‘but it’s not fair!’.
And ultimately, this can lead to problematic behaviour, resentment, and sibling rivalry…
Which raises an interesting question – how do we define ‘fairness’?
If you’re like most parents of school-aged kids, you’ve probably witnessed an anxious child struggling with a challenging homework task.
The temptation to help them in some way can be very strong…
And even when the ‘help’ starts off with a gentle nudge in the right direction, it can sometimes end up with the child sleeping on the couch while you finish off the project!
It’s perfectly understandable. We want to stop children from being anxious, while helping them to succeed.
But it’s best not to help too much.
Why?
Thursday of last week was national “R U OK?” day — a day when we are inspired to meaningfully connect with the people around us who may be struggling.
“R U OK?” aims to support people suffering from mental health issues such as depression and anxiety by increasing awareness, encouraging friends and family to reach out, and teaching ways to help and support those around us.
45% of Australians will experience some form of mental illness in their lifetime, and one in seven will experience depression.
And while “R U OK?” has an emphasis on suicide prevention, it does bring up the important issue of being aware and open about mental health issues with those around us, and to take away the stigma from these increasingly common challenges.
So with that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the warning signs of depression in young people.
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(*As of 24th July, 2019.)