Modules
Are your child's skills born or built?:
How parents can cultivate a mindset of continued development for success
Introduction
Challenges are unavoidable in sport, and parents play an important role in cultivating a mindset of continued development for success, even in the face of adversity. As parents, you influence your child's perspective on whether they think they were born or built to succeed.
To ensure your child is in a position to achieve their highest potential, it's crucial to help them to cultivate a mindset that emphasizes an eagerness to grow and develop when faced with challenges or setbacks.
In this module, we'll discuss tips and tools for how parents can support their child when taking on challenges, overcoming adversity, giving their best effort, and being coachable. We'll also discuss phrases you might be using that are counterproductive to what you're actually seeking to accomplish.
Do's and Don'ts
DO focus on the process of development that helps achieve a desired outcome.
DON'T say, “Do your best.” The child will typically hear that they need to have their best performance, when what parents are really intending is encouragement to give their best effort.
DO praise the elements of your child's game that they have control over. Emphasize their effort, strategy, or ability to adapt instead of the score or outcome of a play.
DON'T use words like “talented” or “natural” when describing your child. This minimizes the impact of effort.
DO seek feedback from your coaches and know that feedback is a tool for improvement, not a mark against you personally.
DON'T compare yourself to others. Instead, learn from their strengths as a tool to enhance your own.
DO reflect on your challenges and determine what you learned from the difficulty. This will point you in the direction of making each situation better.
DON'T focus on the result. Doing so brings your attention to things you can't control and distracts you from actions you can take to improve.
Parent,
Evaluate the following statements:
Identify whether they cultivate a fixed mindset OR growth mindset.
STATEMENT 1
"I love to see you try new things"
GROWTH MINDSET
CORRECT!
This encourages your child to take on challenges and develop in new ways.
FIXED MINDSET
TRY AGAIN!
Reinforcing to your child to try new things actually encourages them to take on challenges, which can help them see difficulty as an opportunity to develop and improve.
STATEMENT 2
"Did you win?"
GROWTH MINDSET
TRY AGAIN!
Focusing on the outcome prioritizes the result, which they don't often have control over. Instead, try asking, "Did you give your best effort?"
FIXED MINDSET
CORRECT!
Focusing on the outcome reinforces things your child can't control, leading them to be more concerned with how things turn out rather than the process.
STATEMENT 3
"What did you learn today?"
GROWTH MINDSET
CORRECT!
Asking your child about what they learned reinforces that learning, mistakes, and corrections are a normal part of the process.
FIXED MINDSET
TRY AGAIN!
Emphasizing opportunities to learnis an excellent way to cultivate thegrowth mindset in your child.
IN A LEAGUE OF OUR OWN
IMG Academy coaches are aware of the significance of their role, and they're prepared to guide your child to achieve their goals during sport and beyond. Choose a sport camp to get a glimpse into our coaches' expertise, or apply for our boarding school program that's guided by coaches, teachers, and mentors dedicated to supporting each individual's needs as both students and as athletes.
