Mistakes are part of learning

Every child makes mistakes while learning. Yet many children become afraid of them, and that fear can stop them from trying at all.

A helpful shift is to treat mistakes as information. A wrong answer simply shows what to practise next. You can model this at home: "I got that recipe wrong, let me see what happened."

When your child is stuck, ask, "What did you try?" before giving the answer. This values their thinking, not just the result.

Praise effort and strategy. "You kept going even when it was tricky" teaches more than "You are so clever."

It also helps to normalise struggle. Tell your child that hard work feeling hard is completely normal, and that the brain grows through practice.

Children who feel safe making mistakes ask more questions, try more problems and, step by step, become more confident learners.