I’ve been trying to teach my kids about not giving up, but they seem to lose interest quickly. Any tips on making persistence lessons fun and engaging for them? I don’t want it to feel like a chore, but I also think it’s an important skill. What works for your kids?
I’ve been struggling with this too. My 5-year-old gets frustrated easily when things don’t work out right away.
We started doing ‘puzzle time’ together. We pick a challenging puzzle and work on it a little each day. At first, my child wanted to quit when it got hard. But I noticed they started to feel proud when we finished a tricky section.
Now we talk about how the puzzle is like other things in life - sometimes it takes time to figure out. It’s helping, but I still worry I’m not doing enough.
Has anyone tried teaching persistence through everyday tasks? I’m curious how that might work with a younger kid.
I remember those days of trying to teach persistence. One thing that worked for us was sharing stories about famous people who didn’t give up. My kids loved hearing about inventors and athletes who failed many times before succeeding.
We also started a family tradition of sharing our ‘persistence wins’ at dinner. Everyone talked about something they struggled with but kept trying. It could be anything from mastering a new skateboard trick to finishing a tough book.
For my younger one, we used a sticker chart to track attempts, not just successes. She got excited seeing all her efforts add up, even if she hadn’t mastered the skill yet.
My older one responded well to setting personal goals and tracking his progress. He’d often surprise himself with how much he improved when he stuck with something. 
These approaches made persistence feel more natural and less like a lecture. It took time, but it really paid off as they got older.
In our family, we’ve turned persistence into a fun challenge. My kiddo picks a new skill each month to practice regularly. We track progress on a colorful chart, and at the end of the month, we have a little celebration.
I’ve noticed my child gets excited about improving and sticking with tasks longer. Sometimes we make it a friendly competition - who can keep going the longest on a tricky puzzle or tough video game level.
Making it feel more like play than work seems to help. It’s pretty cool seeing my kid take on harder challenges as time goes on.
In our house, we’ve had good results with turning persistence into a game. For our 10-year-old, we started a ‘stick-with-it’ challenge where she picks a new skill to practice for 10 minutes daily. She charts her progress and gets to choose a small reward at the end of each week.
Our 7-year-old loves building with blocks, so we encourage him to keep trying when his towers fall. We cheer each attempt and take pictures of his tallest creations.
Both kids seem more willing to keep going when it feels playful. They’re learning that sticking with something leads to improvement, and they get excited about their own progress. It’s been fun to watch them tackle tougher tasks over time.
We started a weekly challenge at home. Kids pick something new to try each week. They keep a simple log and get small rewards for sticking with it.
My 9-year-old is learning guitar now. She struggled at first but kept going. Pretty cool to see her progress.