Press Release – University of Auckland
A study led by the University of Auckland investigated the links between the way parents talk about setbacks with their children and children’s fear of making mistakes.
A study led by the University of Auckland investigated the links between the way parents talk about setbacks with their children and children’s fear of making mistakes.
Published in the British Journal of Educational PsychologyThe study analyzed audio recordings of 231 conversations between mothers and their eight-year-old children about recent setbacks, such as a disappointing sporting event, test, or class presentation.
The researchers looked at whether the conversations:
- He recognized the child’s emotions,
- Discussed a plan to handle the situation should it occur again, and
- Different resources that the child could turn to to help manage future setbacks were discussed.
“Surprisingly, many parents did not recognize their children’s emotional responses and some minimized them with comments such as ‘it was silly to feel that way’,” says Dr Elizabeth Peterson from Waipapa Taumata Rau University’s School of Psychology. from Auckland.
The children completed a questionnaire that included a question about how often they had felt fear of failure over the past week.
In the study, lower levels of fear of making mistakes were linked to a specific combination of parental responses. Acknowledging the child’s emotions or discussing a plan alone was not enough; In fact, just talking about a plan was associated with greater fear of making mistakes in children.
The lowest levels of fear were associated with the combination of emotion recognition, a plan, and a third element, a discussion about mother-child collaboration, such as saying, “You could set aside some time on the weekend to practice and we could help you.” “. with you with the things that are difficult for you.”
This combination of parental responses, and in particular the focus on collaborative efforts, is likely to help the child feel more supported, Peterson says.
The findings are suggestive rather than conclusive, as the statistical associations are relatively small and have not yet been replicated.
“When parents talk to their children about things that didn’t go as planned, they may be gradually building a framework for managing future setbacks,” Peterson says.
The study also highlighted that
- Most eight-year-olds (61 percent) reported that in the previous seven days they had never or almost never expressed fear of making mistakes;
- Fourteen percent reported having this fear often or always in the past seven days;
- 40 percent of mothers did not discuss or minimize their children’s emotional responses;
- Fifty-five percent did not discuss any action plan;
- Of the mothers who mentioned some type of resource, 53 percent focused only on what the children should do alone the next time the event happened;
- A small percentage spoke of external supports such as teachers or coaches; and
- Only 17 percent talked about collaborative work (things the child and parent could do to help next time).
Research increasingly highlights the benefits of considering mistakes and setbacks as part of the learning process, Peterson says.
He notes that while a little fear can motivate, especially before an important test or exam, during the learning phase mistakes and errors should not be stigmatized or feared.
“The problem is that the fear of making mistakes often leads to avoidance behaviors, causing people to give up when learning is difficult, stop participating in activities to avoid being seen as wrong, and ultimately, miss out on opportunities that could improve or deepen their learning,” he said. she says.
Most conversations in the study lasted less than five minutes. “It seems that even very brief conversations that parents have with their children about recent setbacks can matter,” Peterson says.
The data was drawn from the Growing Up in New Zealand longitudinal study of child health and well-being, which has followed the lives of more than 6,000 rangatahi and their families.
Content sourced from Scoop.co.nz.
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