How to Help Your Child Grow During a Crisis

 If you’re wondering whether this year has impacted your child in one way or another you’re probably right. From digitizing their education to seeing friends and loved ones less, it’s normal to worry whether they are growing and constructively adapting to the constant change and challenges in their life. 

No one likes their kids to feel discouraged, but being challenged and experiencing failure are important to allow them to grow. Below the folks at Tommy John outlined three ways to help kids develop a growth mindset during this time of uncertainty along with some helpful printable activities to support this growth.

1. Set high but realistic goals and expectations

Setting high expectations for your kids is great because when you show them that you believe they’re capable of handling difficult tasks, they feel empowered. But setting high goals is only half the point. You need to communicate and help them realize realistic and attainable ways to reach these goals. When kids find themselves in challenging situations the expectation grows bigger and it’s easy to get frustrated if you don’t have a road map. Encourage your child to look at the problem from all angles and set micro-goals to reaching a solution. 

2. Keep a structured routine 

Committing to a daily routine is one of the best ways to increase structure in your child’s life and ease anxieties. When some days seem more chaotic than others, rather than barking orders, help them through their routine tasks. Let your kids control simple tasks like picking out their clothes, but support them through the process of getting dressed.

3. Give them space

Life will be full of struggles and challenges for your child and it’s easy to look to a parent for a quick solution. Help them cultivate their independence by resisting the urge to help them right away when they confront a problem. Instead, ask open-ended questions to help them come up with a solution on their own. For example, “I know you're frustrated because X, how can we find a way around it?" Active problem-solving builds resilience and creativity. 

We hope these three tips help you navigate the turbulent time we are all in. For activities geared at helping your child develop a growth mindset, we’ve sourced three printable activities to do together. Whether you try the Emotion Grid Exercise, Growth Mindset Conversation Cube or the Goal Setting Worksheet, all of these printable worksheets are perfect for doing together as a non-screen and educational activity. Download the activities below. For detailed instructions on using the printable worksheets check out Tommy John’s post here.