Reality growth mindset in practice

Crazy is doing same thing, the same way over and over again and yet expecting a different result

Having written on the importance of developing reality growth mindset a while back, I had a pleasant experience with my daughter recently.

We are currently in the 4th week of lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic. While many developed countries are slowly resuming back to normal lives due to the successful mass vaccination drive, the end of the tunnel is yet to be seen here in Malaysia. Schools had been closed since mid May. Understandably, children are bored as they are not allowed to even cycle around the neighborhood. It is at this time that my younger daughter developed an obsession on cardboard crafts.

There are many tutorial videos in YouTube on cardboard crafts and she decided to follow one to make a Lays chip vending machine. The effort she put in in making the vending machine would have make any parents proud. Everything turned out well, until she reached the the part of refills. It just won’t work after she has put in more of the snack packets. It was indeed frustrating to have put in so much effort and in the end it just did not work.

The ‘failed’ chips vending machine

Some children would have just give up at this point. And some parents would have jump in to solve the problem for the child. But I hold myself. Let the child learn to figure it out. Let her learn not to give up. When we teach our children not to give up, we are also paving way for them to develop grit.

After much trials and error, finally she managed to figure out what went wrong :

1. Tutorial was for Lays Chip. She was using a local snack instead which has different packet dimensions.

2. Cardboard must be sturdy so as not to bend easily and hindered the movements

3. All parts, except the outer shell need to be made from the same type of cardboard as different boards have different thickness.

4. A mistake, no matter how small, in one part will affect the rest

There was nothing she can do about the Lays chip vending machine unless she tear the whole thing apart and build it again. Instead of giving up, she applied what she has figured out above and made a Kit Kat vending machine. It works this time. And boy, did we celebrate!

Here are what my girl said when asked what she learnt from this whole process :

1. There is a solution to everything if we look hard enough

2. Failure is never final. Giving up is

3. Tutorial is just a guide. We need to change to suit the situation

4. Believe that we can

5. There is no failure. It simply means we have not found the solution yet.

If that is not reality growth mindset in practice?! Sometimes it is not about the end result, but the process.

#Parenting #Twins