Learned helplessness is characterized by inaction. If your child is struggling with learned helplessness, they may believe that they are incapable of getting past their anxiety. Take for example a child’s poor performance on an English test. Instead of taking their score as an opportunity to learn what topics they could understand better, the child may start to believe that they performed poorly because they are unintelligent and will always fail in English. The child may then procrastinate on assignments, avoid studying for tests or fail to participate in classes because they believe their scholastic fate is sealed.
As parents, we must teach our children how to be optimistic, breaking that belief to resist habitual negative thinking and constant giving up.
Inspired by:
“The Loving Push”, Temple Grandin