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Parent and Child Psychological Services PLLC 
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How Parents can Promote a Growth Mindset By Kirsten Ellingsen, PhD

9/25/2019

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What are your general beliefs about intelligence and talent? Do you tell your child he or she “is smart” or “a natural” at different activities? Do you think that intelligence is a set attribute or that ability is changeable and talent develops with practice?
 
It turns out that what and how we think about ability and intelligence can influence our approach to learning, motivation to take on difficult tasks, response to mistakes and failure, perseverance in challenges, and academic achievement.
 
Carol Dweck, a psychologist at Stanford University, categorized these beliefs into two types of “mindsets”. Her book titled Mindset: the new psychology of success (2006, updated 2016) summarized research related to student beliefs about ability and found different learning behaviors when a student has a “growth mindset” versus a “fixed mindset”.  
 
  • Generally, a growth mindset is related to the following beliefs: Intelligence and ability can improve and change as a result of effort, perseverance, and practice; challenges are temporary and opportunities to enhance learning, mistakes and failures are also viewed as opportunities to learn.
 
  • In contrast, a fixed mindset is related to beliefs that: intelligence and ability are set (fixed traits) and cannot be changed or developed, that effort will not overcome challenges, mistakes or failures might reflect a lack of ability, being smart or gifted means succeeding with little effort, success is proving you are smart, putting forth effort or struggling to learn might mean a child is “not smart”, a child may feel the need to keep proving  and tasks that cannot be done easily or quickly might be avoided.
 
Benefits of helping children develop a growth mindset
 
A child’s mindset can influence behavior and academic achievement.  These beliefs influences how we face challenges and setbacks. Using a growth mindset more often helps children realize that practice, study, and effort can strengthen brain functioning and enhance long-term success at school, particularly when working through academic challenges or failures.
 
Having a growth mindset has predicted higher grades, greater motivation, and been associated with students taking on more advanced and challenging classes. Differences in mindsets have been observed in children as young as three years of age and related to their desire and approach to challenges in elementary school. Studies have found that explicitly teaching children about the brain and that intelligence can be developed increased a growth mindset. (See resources below for reviews of research).
 
Strategies to help facilitate a growth mindset
 
Mindsets are beliefs that can be changed. Parents and teachers can pass down their beliefs and mindset to children in comments, expectations, types of praise, and response to mistakes. Strategies that parents can use include:
 

Praise Process
 
  • Emphasize effort and effective strategies (give process praise). Focus on the learning process and how hard work, use of good strategies, and resources rather than on outcome or being “smart”.
  • Praise should be sincere. Empty praise and praising effort regardless of the outcome might feel disingenuous to children and is not helpful (if effort alone is not working you can encourage more effective strategies to successfully accomplish a task). It is not just praising effort but also using right or effective strategies.
  • Add the word “yet” when I child states that he or she can’t do something.
 
Examples: “you really studied hard for your history test, read the material twice and took notes, and it worked” rather than “you are so smart”; “I like how you kept trying different strategies to solve that math problem until you got it” and see Say this /Not that at: https://www.mindsetworks.com/parents/growth-mindset-parenting)
 

Talk about the brain
  • Teach your child about the brain and how you can change your brain and strengthen neural connections with experience, effort, practice, taking on challenges, asking questions, actively participating in learning.
  • Brainology for Home (https://www.mindsetworks.com/programs/brainology-for-home) is one program available.
 Talk about and accept mistakes as opportunities to learn
  • Encourage children to take on challenges and understand that mistakes are part of learning.
  • Let children know that setbacks or feedback are ok and do not reflect lack of intelligence or ability; encourage them to ask for help when needed.
  • Share your own stories about success achieved from hard work and achievements that result from hard work.
  • Model persistence, effort and managing failure well. Talk about what you learned from mistakes.
 Understand the role of emotions in learning
  • When we get angry, scared, or feel threatened, our fight or flight response is activated and it is difficult to be calm, think clearly and learn. It is important to support children when they are getting frustrated or upset, particularly when making mistakes or struggling to learn. 
  • Diaphragmatic breathing (belly breathing) is one strategy to use to help children calm down and manage their feelings and be able to move forward.
 
For example, breathe slowly in through your nose 3 seconds and out through your mouth 4 seconds. Have your child practice by placing a stuffed animal on his/her belly while lying down and making the animal rise while breathing in and see it fall when exhaling out mouth.
 
 
Parents can help their children build resiliency and increase academic achievement. One way to do this is by encouraging children to develop a “growth mindset”. It is an ongoing process and takes practice. Children have different initial talents, aptitudes, interests and temperaments with potential that can be enhanced. People tend to have both types of mindsets depending on circumstances, but parents can encourage the type of thinking that will increase the use of a growth mindset that produces perseverance and resilience. 
 
There is still a lot of research that needs to be done to fully understand the impact of mindset alone. It is important to consider all the different factors that contribute to school success and a child’s approach to learning (consider findings about early experience and brain development  https://developingchild.harvard.edu ). Nevertheless, encouraging a growth mindset – knowing and believing that you can increase your ability and strengthen cognitive performance through effort, practice, and perseverance– is a powerful and accessible tool and strategy that promotes learning, resiliency, and an ability to effectively cope with setbacks and challenges.
 
REFERENCES AND RESOURCES
 
  • Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. Random House Digital, Inc.
  • https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-secret-to-raising-smart-kids1/
  • Resources for parents: https://www.mindsetworks.com/parents/default
  • Videos: https://www.mindsetworks.com/parents/growth-mindset-parenting
  • Free Growth mindset program for 9th grade students: https://www.perts.net/orientation/hg

A critique of mindset research can be found in the following:
Victoria F. Sisk, Alexander P. Burgoyne, Jingze Sun, Jennifer L. Butler, Brooke N. Macnamara. To What Extent and Under Which Circumstances Are Growth Mind-Sets Important to Academic Achievement? Two Meta-Analyses. Psychological Science, 2018; 29 (4): 549 DOI: 10.1177/0956797617739704

Updated replication studies and new additional supporting data can be found from the National Study of Learning Mindsets at https://theconversation.com/growth-mindset-interventions-yield-impressive-results-97423 and https://mindsetscholarsnetwork.org/about-the-network/current-initatives/key-findings/

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Emotional Intensity in Gifted Children By Tara Motzenbecker, M.S., NCSP

9/19/2019

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Giftedness often goes hand-in-hand with emotional intensity. Just as a gifted child’s thinking is more complex than his or her peers’, so too are their emotions more complex and more intense.
 

The emotional intensity in the gifted is not just a matter of feeling “more”, but it is an entirely different way of experiencing the world; vivid, absorbing, penetrating, complex, encompassing, commanding. This intensity can be expressed in a variety of ways:
  • as intensity of feeling - positive feelings, negative feelings, both positive and negative feelings together, extremes of emotion, complex emotion that seemingly move from one feeling to another over a short time period, identification with the feelings of other people, laughing and crying together
  • in the body - the body mirrors the emotions and feelings are often expressed as bodily symptoms such as tense stomach, sinking heart, blushing, headache, nausea
  • inhibition - timidity and shyness
  • strong affective memory - emotionally intense children can remember the feelings that accompanied an incident and will often relive and 're-feel' them long afterward
  • fears and anxieties, feelings of guilt, feelings of being out of control
  • concerns with death, depressive moods
  • emotional ties and attachments to others, empathy and concern for others, sensitivity in relationships, attachment to animals, difficulty in adjusting to new environments, loneliness, conflicts with others over the depth of relationships
  • critical self-evaluation and self-judgment, feelings of inadequacy and inferiority
Feeling everything more deeply than others do can both be painful and frightening. Emotionally intense gifted people often feel abnormal. This quality, however, can be an intrinsic part of being gifted and provide the drive that gifted people have for personal growth and achievement.

The most important thing parents, educators and others can do to nurture emotionally intense gifted children is to accept their emotions: they need to feel understood and supported. Explain that intense feelings are normal. Help them to use their intellect to develop self-awareness and self-acceptance. Discuss feelings openly; the negative as well as the positive. It can be helpful to use an "emotional thermometer" to initiate discussion eg "on a scale of 1-10, how are you feeling today? "Take time to listen to children's ideas, opinions and feelings. Be non-judgmental: don't interrupt, moralize, distract or give advice.

Most importantly, make sure these children know their emotional intensity a strength, a superpower, and that their ability to feel deeply is valued.
​ 

References
Piechowski, M.M. (1991) Emotional Development and Emotional Giftedness. In N. Colangelo & G. Davis (Eds.), Handbook of Gifted Education. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon
Piechowski, M.M. (1979) Developmental Potential. In N. Colangelo &T. Zaffran (Eds.), New Voices in Counseling the Gifted. Dubuque, IA : Kendall/Hunt.

​
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How to Manage Your Child’s Stress and Fear about School Shootings By Rachel Funnell, LMFT

9/5/2019

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It is unfortunate, to say the least, that parents, caregivers, teachers and therapists are in a position now to have to talk to children and teens about school shootings. As the adults in kid’s lives, it’s important to know how to talk to them about it, address their fears and help them manage that stress. Below are some tips, divided up in different age groups, for talking to your children about this issue. 
Preschool to Kindergarten:
  • Keep it as simple and short as possible
  • Reassure them that they are safe and there are adults in their life to help keep them safe. I.e.: teachers, parents, school staff, bus drivers
  • Give examples school safety like locked exterior doors, gates and emergency drills
  • Try to focus on the positives of the story, like the heroes
Elementary School:
  • Decide how much you want to share with them due to this age group having more questions
  • Prevent your child from watching news regarding the shooting or seeing images due to the images stick with the child longer
  • Again, talk about the heroes of the event and reassure them of the adults and safety measures within the school
  • This age group may need help separating fantasy from reality
Tweens:
  • This group tends to have strong and varying opinions about the causes of violence in schools and society, therefore, be prepared to discuss these viewpoints
  • Ask them how they feel about the shootings
  • This can be a great opportunity to talk about your personal values as well as gain some insight into their values
  • Begin to talk to them about how and when to speak up if they notice a peer in trouble or isolating themselves
  • Discuss the importance of following school safety rules, like not providing access to the school to strangers and reporting any threats 
Teens:
  • Ask them how they feel and what they have heard about the shootings
  • Listen to their feelings and display empathy
  • Teens usually want action, so discuss what they can do to make the school safe as well as what the school and community is doing
  • Discuss how they can keep themselves safe
With all age groups, it’s important to remember the following:
  • Observe your child’s emotional state: Some may not express their concerns verbally so pay attention to any changes in behavior, appetite and sleep.
  • Limit media exposure: Monitor what they view online including social media. 
  • Maintain a normal routine: Keeping a routine can be reassuring. 
  • Review school safety procedures: It’s not only important for your child to know, it’s important for you to know too.

While school shootings and acts of violence are scary topics of conversation, it’s important to not ignore this issue. Avoiding it will only leave your child feeling scared and paranoid. 
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How to Support Your Child’s School Success this Year: Foundational Behaviors By Kirsten Ellingsen, Ph.D.

9/2/2019

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With the start of a new school year students everywhere are beginning to adjust to new routines and changing academic and social expectations. While many factors contribute to academic achievement and social competence, there are foundational behaviors that promote health, functioning, and learning to increase school success.  Parents can help support a strong start to school and better long-term school outcomes by making sure that children and teenagers do the following: get adequate sleep, eat healthy, exercise regularly, manage stress effectively, and develop a positive approach to learning and overcoming challenges.  
 
1.Get adequate sleep
 
Sleep is essential for health and well-being. Sleep affects cognitive functioning. Getting enough sleep is important for physical health, learning, and mood. Not getting adequate sleep can negatively affect learning and mood for children and teens.  (See previous blogs for more information about sleep). Children 6 to 12 years of age should sleep 9 to 12 hours. Teenagers 13 to 18 years of age should sleep 8 to 10 hours.  

  • https://www.sleepfoundation.org/articles/children-and-sleep
  • https://aasm.org/recharge-with-sleep-pediatric-sleep-recommendations-promoting-optimal-health/   
 
2.Eat Well
 
Nutrition and healthy eating affects student learning and academic achievement.  Good nutrition facilitates positive brain functioning. Malnutrition has been linked to behavioral problems. Sugar can also negatively influence behavior. Staying hydrated helps with improved thinking and learning. A good breakfast is important for concentration  See the websites below for recommended food and research about nutrition and child functioning.

  • https://www.cdc.gov/features/school-lunch-week/index.html
  • https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/habits.html
  • https://articles.extension.org/pages/68774/3-ways-nutrition-influences-student-learning-potential-and-school-performance
 
3.Exercise daily
 
Exercise improves mood and behavior. Regular exercise can reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, as well as increase feelings of happiness. It helps with sleep and better physical health, prevents disease, increases confidence and self-esteem, and maintains healthy body weight. Exercise helps build the brain area involved in learning and memory (hippocampus); it improves attention and problem solving abilities.  Encourage an hour of exercise/physical activity each day, whether playing outside in free play or involvement in an organized sport. Physical activity is also an important stress reliever. Even walking for 10 minutes with your child (try before or after dinner) has benefits and provides a time and opportunity to talk.

  • https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/exercise.html
  • https://www.healthline.com/health-news/exercise-benefits-children-physically-and-mentally#1
  • https://www.aboutkidshealth.ca/Article?contentid=641&language=English
 
Encouraging these healthy behaviors will support a strong start to the school year and continued school success. Next month, I will continue with the topic of promoting school success by addressing how a student’s “mindset” or belief about intelligence and approach to learning and challenges influences academic achievement. I will also describe what parents can do to promote a “growth mindset” that is connected to improved achievement.



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    Parent and Child Psychological Services is a private practice serving children and families in the Sarasota, Florida area. The practice is owned and operated by Dr. Gibson, a Licensed Psychologist who is Board Certified in Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. ​

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Parent and Child Psychological Services PLLC 
info@childtherapysrq.com
941.357.4090 (Office)
727.304.3619 (Fax)                                                                                                                                                               
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