Why You Shouldn't be Afraid to Overrate Your Child
Recent research from University College London has sparked a new conversation around something that we've known to be true for some time.
The research itself is about gender stereotypes coming into play when parents assess their children's abilities. Parents (and teachers) both tend to overestimate boys' skills more than girls' skills in math.
Over time, this overestimation becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. The kids whose parents were most overconfident about their abilities (mostly boys) tended to do better. Then, as children move through the school, this means the gap between girls and boys in math starts to widen.
There's an important discussion to be had here about pervasive gender stereotypes and how they limit girls' ability to fulfil their potential. But there's another really important take-home for parents, regardless of their children's gender:
Don't be afraid to overrate your child.
This doesn't mean showboating them to other parents or hothousing them to study to the detriment of play and relaxation (although a little bit of work at home does go a long way.)
It's more about how you can influence your child's mindset and belief in their own abilities to bring about those self-fulfilling prophecies.
Research over the years has proven time and time again that children do better when more is expected of them.
As parents, the most significant thing you can take from this new study is that healthy encouragement, positive talk and an absence of self-limitations is the way to help your child reach their true potential.
So, lay on the encouragement, praise effort, and believe that the sky's the limit.
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