Daily interactions between parents and kids might seem routine, but words can have a big impact on how young people see themselves. Stanford researcher Carol Dweck's research on socialization shows that kids develop ideas about who they are as learners from a very young age. “Mother’s praise to their babies, one to three years of age, predicts that child’s mindset and desire for challenge five years later,” Dweck said. “It doesn’t mean it is set in stone, but it means that kind of value system -- what you’re praising, what you say is important -- it’s sinking in."
Parents may feel overwhelmed by the many strands of advice out there about how to raise confident learners, but perhaps one of the most important things to keep in mind is that kids are soaking it all up, the bad and the good.
As part of their Inspire Her Mind campaign, Verizon rifts on this idea in a recent commercial about how words can have an effect on the ways girls see themselves as makers, scientists, engineers.