• Parenting Pitch
  • Posts
  • Does Building Resilience Make Winning Kids (and Parents!)?

Does Building Resilience Make Winning Kids (and Parents!)?

Plus: Discover the power of "Yet"

Author

Lakshmi Jayanthi
April 30, 2024

Hello and welcome to The Parenting Pitch by Pickup Sports!

The Parenting Pitch is a newsletter for laid-back parents navigating the elementary and middle school years. Enjoy doses of humor, easygoing advice, and simple hacks to help your children grow, learn, and thrive—without the stress.

Building Unstoppable Mental Strength: Empowering Your Little Athlete

Today we’re talking about mental resilience. Raising a kid(s) who can bounce back from setbacks (both on and off the field) is a superpower. When we were first starting our youth sports journey, there were plenty of situations where one of my kids was hesitant to try a new sport or even continue playing a sport he already started! He was anxious about not being good enough or fitting in or just not sure of exactly what’s going to happen. To help him overcome this, we encouraged him to focus on the process rather than the outcome.

This week, we're sharing our handy guide with strategies to help your child thrive in sports and build that all-important mental resilience.

Learn about the 6 C’s that help kids build mental resilience on and off the field. By focusing on the 6 C’s and phrasing your questions to your kids in the right way, you can help them develop the mental toughness they need to overcome challenges and enjoy the amazing world of sports.

Think of it as equipping them with a toolbox full of mental muscles!

I Cant Do This Season 7 GIF by The Office

Gif by theoffice on Giphy

The power of “yet”

I’ve got a super-picky-eating 11-year-old and I recently caught him saying “I don’t eat mangos.” When he said it, I thought, how can this kid say he doesn’t eat mangos when he has never physically put one in his mouth!

So in that moment I quickly added the word “yet!” to his sentence and asked him to say “I don’t eat mangos yet!”

Turns out there’s some science to back me up.
Replacing “I can’t” with “I can’t… yet” prioritizes progress over perfection and is a great way to shift your kid from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. It’s like adding a sprinkle of hope to their mindset, or at the least to mine!

Here’s how you can use this beyond the mango situation …

🌟 Reframe "I can't" to "I can't... yet": Empower your kids with the belief that their abilities are ever-evolving. By adding “yet” to their vocabulary, they'll naturally embrace the journey of growth.

So, now we’re all about these little conversation shifts, like "I’m not good at this yet" or "I haven’t mastered this yet."

💪 Create skill-building habits: Encourage kids to pick up a new skill each month. For young kids, keep these skills small and realistic like “writing the letter ‘n’ so it doesn’t look like an ‘r’. When they start to notice their own progress, it becomes exciting and they’ll naturally want to try another new skill.

📈 Visualize progress with a growth chart: Kids learn and absorb things visually. By making a chart-type representation of their progress, it becomes a visual reminder of how far they’ve come. Use stickers and keep it fun!