There exists a seemingly infinite stream of self-help articles that advise parents on how to raise kids with grit—children who persevere in the face of challenges. The offered wisdom ranges from the generically obvious (Praise the process! Use positive words!) to the bizarrely specific (Create an obstacle course!).
But perhaps the simplest way of instilling persistence in your kids is to persist yourself—and let them see you doing it. According to a new study by Julia Leonard, Yuna Lee, and Laura Schulz at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, even 1-year-old infants can draw lessons from such unspoken, undirected demos. When they see adults persisting at a challenging task, they themselves try harder when faced with an unrelated problem. As the team writes, “Showing children that hard work works might encourage them to work hard too.”
“We’ve all seen children struggle and give up when doing homework or putting on a shoe,” says Leonard. “Effort is a limited resource, and we wanted to know when children learn to make that effort. What are they paying attention to when deciding when to put in more time?” Their parents, probably. Other researchers have looked at how babies who are dealing with challenges respond to praise or support from their parents. But Leonard and her colleagues looked at how babies respond to their parents’ own struggles.
[For more on this story by Ed Yong, go to https://www.theatlantic.com/sc...ching-adults/540471/]
Photo: Ji Young-jun poses with his baby after winning the men's marathon at the 16th Asian Games.
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