Kids, It’s Okay to Fail!

Failure- the word in itself has a negative connotation and probably for the right reasons. But failure has its own set of goods. While we as adults may understand that, children, on the other hand, have to be trained to take failure as a lesson and not a final outcome. Failure, in any form, is disappointing. There is no doubt about that, but each failure teaches us something. 

Several parents want their kids to succeed in everything they do and for that, they put a lot of pressure on them. It is not healthy to pressurize children as it can affect the way they look at things. In fact, of late, several teachers and professionals who work closely with children have started putting emphasis that children need to learn how to fail and accept it gracefully and so do parents. 

Children get highly demotivated or disappointed when they face failure, and while it’s only natural, parents and teachers must ensure that it does not set a mark on them. It’s the responsibility of the parents and teachers to imbibe in children that failure is a crucial component of success and the opposite. Every failure takes you a step towards success. The only thing one needs to do is learn from their mistakes. Educational institutions especially can play a crucial role in this as this is where the kids are molded on a day-to-day basis. Some have already started working towards it. E.g. Silicon Valley-based EdTech startup, www.moonshotjr.com not only teaches children about futuristic technologies and imbibes an entrepreneurial mindset in them, but their experts also teach children to face and accept failure. They make children realize that success is the destination, but failure is a part of the journey. 

As parents and teachers, here are a few things you can do to teach the child to accept failure:  

Let Them Try New Things 

Children instinctively want to try new things. That’s how kids are wired. But if you notice that the child avoids doing different activities, then they probably have a fear of failure from trying something out of their comfort zone. To deal with this, talk to the child and encourage them to try new things. Clearly tell them that it’s okay if they do not succeed. 

Put Emphasis on Growth Mindset

Parents and teachers must focus on the growth attitude. Children have to be taught to enjoy the process without worrying about the outcome. The process is what is going to help them grow and not the outcome. If the emphasis is solely put on the outcome then the child will lose interest in the process and concentrate only on the result. 

Praises for Failure and Success

Parents and teachers should praise children for both, success as well as failure. A child who has faced failure needs it more than the child who has succeeded. When your child fails at something praise them for the effort that they have put in and not worry about the result. This will motivate them to learn from their mistakes and work towards them. 

Become a Role Model  

For your child to embrace failure, share your failures of the past and tell them how you felt, how you learned from your mistakes, and how you overcame them. Talking about your experiences will help your child realize that failures are a part of life, they can learn and move on. 

For children, it is difficult to embrace failure as they feel that they will be judged by their parents, teachers, and friends. It falls on us to train them to accept failure and make them understand that they will only succeed if they attain the skill of handling whatever is thrown at them and enjoy the process while they are at it.