from journal Child Development
Young children learn persistence by watching adult efforts and successes. A study from MIT and University of Pennsylvania, appearing in the journal Child Development, looked at interactions of pre-school age children with adults around them. Not surprising, children don’t persist long at tasks adults themselves fail to achieve. But when adults could complete a task successfully and let the children see the value of the effort, it encouraged persistence in children who were watching. Co-author Laura Schultz of MIT says the study suggests children are attentively watching the adults around them, actively learning from their words, efforts and outcomes. They see how hard work leads to success.