Using “The Power of Yet” to Help Kids Develop a Growth Mindset

Self-doubt can often get the best of anyone, no matter what age. Even kids are susceptible to thoughts like, “I can’t do this” or “I won’t be good at it.” This is why it becomes important to build confidence and a growth mindset. One of the tools that kids can use to do this is called the Power of Yet. Here, we’ll talk about the Power of Yet and how it can help kids develop a growth mindset.

What is “The Power of Yet”?

The Power of Yet is a concept in the growth mindset philosophy that encourages individuals to add the word “yet” to things they believe they cannot achieve. Instead of saying, “I can’t do this,” one might say, “I can’t do this yet.”

By adding the word “yet,” kids can transform limitations into opportunities. It affirms that they believe in their ability to improve over time. This change in mindset provides opportunities for kids to improve and reframe failures as temporary obstacles that they can eventually overcome.

Understanding “The Power of Yet”

To understand The Power of Yet, it helps to know who developed it and why. The Power of Yet was popularized by psychologist Dr. Carol Dweck from Stanford University, who studies motivation theory and a growth mindset. She discussed how simply believing that you can improve affects your ability to succeed. By adopting a mindset that embraces this concept, kids and adults alike are more likely to persevere through challenges and view setbacks as opportunities. Most of all, children can develop resilience and believe in their ability to succeed with effort and perseverance.

The Power of Yet is an excellent example of a growth mindset for kids, which views attributes like abilities, talents, and intelligence as things that can be improved with time and using the right strategies. This has several benefits, including higher self-esteem, more motivation for lifelong learning, and increased confidence.

When looking at these concepts, it is also important to consider the differences between a growth mindset and the fixed mindset. A fixed mindset describes children (and adults) who believe that their intelligence, talents, and personality traits are fixed and cannot change or grow. They believe that we are born with a certain level of ability and cannot improve over time.

By understanding the characteristics of a growth mindset, you can help your kids apply them in daily life.

Related Handout: Growth Mindset Handout

How to Foster “The Power of Yet” for Kids

You can foster the Power of Yet for your kids in several ways.

Emphasize effort over outcome

Kids who embrace a growth mindset understand that hard work, dedication, and effort are essential to improving their abilities. Rather than focusing solely on the outcome, kids can learn that their skills can be developed over time through consistent practice and effort. You can try doing these growth mindset activities with your child to encourage this way of thinking.

Normalize struggles

Teaching your kids that struggle is part of the learning process will help them react positively even when confronted with challenges. By accepting that learning involves some struggle and effort, kids are less likely to shy away from difficulties and will have the courage to try again.

Teach the power of “Yet”

Teaching kids the power of “yet” will allow them to see things differently. Adding the word “yet” to statements of self-doubt shifts your child’s mindset to one more open to possibilities. For example, instead of saying, “I am not good at math,” you can encourage your child to say, “I am not good at math yet.”

Related Poster: The Power Of Yet Poster

Set realistic challenges

Facing challenges is healthy for any child, but they have to be just the right level of difficult and realistic enough to overcome. Making SMART goals [*] can help kids reach attainable targets for themselves. It also helps to break the goals you set with your children into smaller chunks. Make sure to celebrate small wins and try to make the process of getting through challenging goals fun!

Celebrate growth

Celebrating growth gives kids a powerful opportunity to discover how they learn and who they are. More importantly, it gives them the self-confidence and the purpose to do so. Celebrating growth also allows kids to share their successes with those who play an important role in their lives. It highlights the importance of relationships and community in learning and helps kids create good memories around their learning experiences.

Use positive language

The words we use with our children can affect their behavior and motivation now and in the future. Positive language plays a role in shaping our children's character [*], including whether or not they develop a growth or fixed mindset. This is why it is important to use positive language for kids. This tells them why and how to do certain things in an encouraging and positive manner.

Model a growth mindset

Modeling a growth mindset will teach your children to do the same. This goes for both caregivers and educators. In fact, research has shown that the mindset instructors communicate with can influence students’ behavior regardless of the students’ original mindset [*]. To model a growth mindset, it helps to teach kids the importance of feedback and challenge the notion that learning is easy. Here are other ways to foster a growth mindset in the classroom.

Encourage reflection

When kids examine their own thoughts, feelings, and actions, they can gain a deeper understanding of themselves. This can develop a growth mindset that leads them toward success. Reflection can also help kids be more empathetic and understand others in the process. To encourage reflection, try going through growth mindset quotes with your child.

Create a supportive environment

Providing children with a supportive environment will give them opportunities to explore and develop a growth mindset. Make it as engaging as possible with age-appropriate, interesting, and creative materials. For example, you can have some of the best growth mindset books for kids in your classroom or home library.

Related Poster: The Power Of Yet Poster For Kids

The Bottom Line

Ultimately, teaching kids the Power of Yet gives them a life skill that will enable them to face challenges head-on and value the art of perseverance. With this mindset, kids will come to learn that their efforts can pay off. Building this confidence in themselves will lead to success because they will believe that they are in control of their learning and future.

For more resources on the Power of Yet and learning about a growth mindset, check out our growth mindset posters.

References:

1. Bell S. SMART Goals. 2024.
2. Rosyada A & Ramadhianti A. Applying positive language in mindful parenting: A means of building positive character in children. 2019.
3. Gunderson P, Tsukayama EA, Levine E, et al. Young children’s motivational frameworks and math achievement: Relation to teacher-reported instructional practices, but not teacher theory of intelligence. 2016.