Celebrating Mistakes

No one has ever achieved anything without making mistakes along the way. We need to teach our children not to be afraid of making mistakes. It is by making mistakes that we learn to do things differently. Think about it. We have all be given shedloads of excellent advice in our lives, but it's only when we experiment with doing things a different way that we truly understand why that advice was given. I am sure you can think of lots of examples in your own lives; I certainly can. Even so, I still struggle to allow my (grown-up) children to make their own mistakes; it's always such a temptation to jump in and tell them what they should be doing differently. My daughter calls it 'helicopter' parenting. Nevertheless, I know how important it is to give others space to make mistakes and to learn from them. This is true in children's academic work. It is great that they are making spelling mistakes: it means they are experimenting with a wide vocabulary. It is great that they are making mistakes in their Maths: it means that they are persevering with solving problems. It is great that they are mispronouncing words: it means they are reading books that challenge them and stretch them. A wise mother of a friend once said: "Show me a person who has never made a mistake, and I will show you someone who has never made anything."