WiseTip: AL-PER-M0818-G01A

Approaches to Learning

Promoting Persistence

Let your baby participate in self-help activities, such as feeding or dressing themselves, when they demonstrate an interest to do so.

WHY IT MATTERS

Social and environmental facilitation can improve young children’s level of persistence. Home environments that provide choice, time to play, independence, and appropriate levels of challenge can help to enhance children's motivation, which can improve their persistence.

Hyson, M. (2008). Enthusiastic and engaged learners: Approaches to learning in the early childhood classroom. New York: Teachers College Press and Washington, DC: NAEYC.

Self-help activities are motivating as children can see a very clear functional goal. Regular daily practice helps children persist till mastery is gained. Studies have also shown that praising childen's attempts – even from a very young age - encourages them to persevere.

Lucca K, Horton R, Sommerville JA. (2019). Keep trying!: Parental language predicts infants' persistence. Cognition 193:104025.