In this episode, Alexandra, founder of Big Life Journals, talks about the importance of raising kids with gratitude and growth mindset, how we start these big conversations in a way they’ll understand.
Listen below or head on over to iTunes, Spotify, or Stitcher!
Meet a mom who is currently changing the world, Alexandra Eidens!
Alexandra and her husband Scott founded the company, Big Life Journals. They are on a mission to give parents tools and resources to raise their kids with a growth mindset, along with traits such as kindness, gratitude, grit, and resilience. Carol Dweck’s book Mindset was a giant inspiration, and turned into the focus for how they wanted to parent, but when looking for tools and resources for incorporating this practice into their lives and those of a child, they came up short and decided to start their own product! Enter, Big Life Journals!
As a parent, you want your kids to be confident and resilient with high self-esteem and ambition to achieve great things in life. You want them to have a positive outlook on life and try new things. And at the same time, you don’t want them to be afraid of making a mistake or think they “can’t do” before they even try.
We get it. We are parents too. And we created the Big Life Journal for our son Mikey so that he can grow up to be a positive, resilient, confident human being who strives to achieve great things in life. We’re sharing this journal with you with the great hope that it will positively impact your kids’ lives too.
– Alexandra & Scott, creators of the Big Life Journal
In this episode, Alexandra and I talk about the importance of modeling these traits and behaviors, how we start these big conversations, and what we can start today that will help lead our families down this path of growth mindset and squashing limiting beliefs.
SHOW SPONSOR:
My Holiday Family Traditions Guide is ready and waiting for you! It is filled with every little moment, tradition, experience, and activity I do, did in my own childhood, or plan to do during the holiday season with my kids. I outline these all start to finish, encouraging you and setting your mind as ease when it comes to creating a magical season. This is a guide you’ll look back on year after year as you continue to create lifelong holiday memories and traditions with your loved ones.
Grab your guides here!
So what is growth mindset?
Growth mindset is a belief that you can always improve by working hard, putting in effort, using strategies, asking for help from others. All this helps us believe we are not fixed in our abilities, skills and talents. We can also work to develop these.
Fixed Mindset is the belief that we were born a certain way and we are the way we are. We see ourselves as one way and don’t develop from that.
Why is this important as parents?
We can help our kids think bigger and strive for better. We can help them learn to believe in themselves, be confident in solving problems, and excited to try new things.
How do we approach these big conversations about growth mindset for kids?
Big Life Journal offers a TON of resources for starting these conversations about kindness, gratitude, growth mindset, problem solving, etc. Some of my favorite posts and printables are linked below! I suggest starting at the printables section on their website, or their blog which has a TON of information!
Alexandra says the number one thing we can do to get started is modeling our own practice with these traits and mindset. Use the language with them, talk through feelings and situations, show them it’s a journey from fixed to growth mindset and take your kids with you on that journey!
Example: I’m just not a good cook. I’m having a hard time cooking this. You can catch yourself and say…is this a fixed mindset or growth mindset way to think? How could I change my thinking?
Mistakes are good, we celebrate them because that is how we learn. This is how we show them that making mistakes is okay and we grow from them. This modeling is incredibly important for trust and planting the seed of trying new things and being okay and proud of themselves for trying something.
Grab the 4 Week Guide to Teaching Growth Mindset with your kids! This is the perfect starting point, as well as the one page print out of growth mindset and how to get started.
Practicing and Teaching Gratitude
I asked Alexandra how do we get our kids to acknowledge gratitude and help them see if in their lives, and she put my mind at ease that I’m doing okay and am planting the seeds for gratitude. It’s normal for kids not to have the language yet at a young age. They are listening and watching you and the more you use that language and talk about your gratitude, the more they pick up and start to recognize and understand.
Truth Bomb: Your language becomes their self talk, and your words become their words. The words we choose, how we talk about ourselves and them, and the world translates into their self talk and their thoughts- how they perceive the word.
Ideas for Younger Kids:
–Gratitude Ball Game- gratitude for letters, pass the ball for a- I am grateful for juicy apples, pass to them for b, I am grateful for books, etc.
Ideas for Older Kids:
-Big Life Journals
Gratitude Walks or Twalks (talking walk)
I LOVED this fun activity! Alexandra suggested going on a walk and the whole time you just talk about things you are grateful for- back and forth with the person/people you’re with. To take it a step further, talk and share things you are grateful for that you want to have but don’t yet. (i.e. I’m so grateful for a house with a yard so we can spend more outside time as a family or I’m so grateful for the family vacation we took to Hawaii.)
Truth Bomb: Interrupt your anxiety with gratitude- it’s impossible to be anxious and grateful at the same time.
Use gratitude as a way to change your mood and get out of a funk: temper tantrum? Fight with your spouse? Right away, ask, what are you grateful for? Try this!!
The one thing Alexandra wants to instill in her kids? Be grateful.
Go connect with Alexandra and say hi!
Alexandra’s FREE Facebook group is FULL of resources, as well as guest speakers, therapists and experts on parenting questions, growth mindset, and many of the other traits Big Life Journals creates resources for!
SHOW SPONSOR
My Holiday Family Traditions Guide is ready and waiting for you! It is filled with every little moment, tradition, experience, and activity I do, did in my own childhood, or plan to do during the holiday season with my kids. I outline these all start to finish, encouraging you and setting your mind as ease when it comes to creating a magical season. This is a guide you’ll look back on year after year as you continue to create lifelong holiday memories and traditions with your loved ones.
Grab your guides here!
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Head on over to my free Facebook group, Memories in Moments Insiders! There you’ll find additional resources to support each episode, more information on guests and how you can connect with them, visual and video tutorials, and best of all, connection as we navigate parenting and making memories together!
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[…] We looooove this podcast! It’s created by early podcast guest, Alexandria Eidens, creator of the Big Life Journal. Check out her episode on raising kids with gratitude and a growth mindset here! […]