Hey everyone, I’m struggling with this parenting challenge. My kids get really discouraged when they make mistakes, and I want to change that. Any suggestions on how to make the process of learning from errors more positive and rewarding for them? I’ve tried praising effort, but I feel like I’m missing something. What works for your kids?
In our house, we’ve turned mistakes into learning opportunities. We started a ‘Growth Board’ where the kids stick notes about what they learned from their errors.
It’s amazing to see how their attitude has changed. They’re more willing to try new things and talk about what went wrong.
We review the board together once a week. It’s become a nice family moment where we celebrate their progress and problem-solving skills.
The kids seem proud of their ‘discoveries’ now. It’s made a big difference in how they approach challenges.
I remember when my kids were younger, they’d get so upset over mistakes. What helped us was sharing our own ‘oops moments’ at dinner. We’d talk about something that went wrong during our day and how we handled it.
It took a while, but the kids started joining in. They’d giggle at our silly errors and eventually felt comfortable sharing their own. We’d brainstorm together on how to fix things or what to try next time.
This approach made mistakes feel more normal and less scary. The kids saw that even adults mess up sometimes. Over time, they became more willing to try new things without worrying so much about getting it perfect the first time.
Every family is different, though. What worked for us might not work for everyone. The important thing is to keep trying until you find what clicks for your kids. 
We started a ‘mistake jar’ at home. Kids put in a marble when they catch and fix a mistake.
When it’s full, we do something fun together.
Makes errors less scary and more like puzzles to solve.
I’ve found that turning mistakes into a fun challenge works well with my kid. We have a ‘Master of Mistakes’ crown that gets awarded to whoever learns the most from their errors each week.
It’s pretty cool to see how it’s changed things. My kid now gets excited about figuring out what went wrong and how to fix it. We talk about our mistakes at dinner and laugh about the silly ones.
This approach has made errors less scary and more like puzzles to solve. It’s not perfect, but it’s definitely helped create a more positive attitude towards learning from mistakes in our house.
I’ve been wondering about this too. My 5-year-old gets so frustrated when things don’t work out perfectly. We tried a sticker chart for ‘brave tries,’ but it didn’t really click.
I’m curious about that ‘mistake jar’ idea. How many marbles does it take to fill it? And what kind of fun things do you do as a reward?
We’ve been trying to talk about my mistakes too. Like when I burn dinner or get lost driving. It seems to help a little. My kid giggles and we figure out solutions together.
Has anyone tried using drawing or art to work through mistakes? My child loves art projects, so I wonder if that could be a good way to explore this.