Mores Health

Tag: trying again

  • Growth mindset for kids: what a try again looks like

    Growth mindset for kids: what a try again looks like

    Mores Health illustration for a story on growth mindset for kids

    A four-year-old is building a tower of blocks. It leans, wobbles, and falls. She sits still, then reaches for the bottom block again. Watching this, many parents type the same words into a search bar: growth mindset for kids.

    Here is the short answer. Growth mindset for kids is the idea that skills can grow with effort and practice. You rarely see it as a speech about learning. Instead, you see it on the clock: a collapse, a gap, and then a next piece placed.

    Studies suggest that praise for effort, rather than for being smart, goes along with children trying again after failing. So what you say after the fall may matter as much as the tower itself.

    What does a growth mindset for kids look like at home?

    Go back to the tower. When it falls, a few things happen in order. First, the blocks hit the floor. Then there is a gap of time. Last, your child either places a new block or does something else.

    That gap and that next block are where a growth mindset for kids becomes something you can see. You cannot watch a belief. But you can watch a child pick up a block, set it down, and start again.

    The gap can be short or long. Some children start again at once. Others walk away, come back later, and rebuild in a new way. Both are actions, so both tell you only what happened, not why.

    Adults are part of this moment too. What a parent says after the fall, and after the rebuild, is the part that research has studied most. That is why the evidence below is mostly about praise.

    What can I watch for when my child tries again?

    You do not need a stopwatch. A growth mindset for kids shows up in small, ordinary moments, so just notice the order of events after something falls or tips over. Over a few weeks, you may see a pattern in what your child does next.

    It also helps to listen to your own words. Notice whether you praise your child as a person or praise what your child did. For example, ‘you are so smart’ and ‘you tried a wider base’ are not the same message.

    • Watch how long it takes before the next block goes down after a collapse.
    • Notice whether your child rebuilds the same way or picks up different pieces.
    • See whether your child leaves the build, then comes back to it later.
    • Listen for what your child says out loud, such as ‘again’ or ‘this one goes here’.
    • Try naming the action you saw, for example ‘you put the big block at the bottom this time’.

    What do studies say about praise and trying again?

    Much of what people say about growth mindset for kids traces back to research on praise. One paper, Mueller 1998, reports a series of lab experiments with fifth graders. Children worked on tasks and then heard one of two kinds of praise. Some heard they were smart, while others heard they had worked hard.

    Then all the children met harder tasks and did not do well on them. After that, children praised for being smart gave up sooner than those praised for effort. They also did less well on the tasks that came next. In fact, children praised for hard work were more likely to say that how smart you are can grow.

    How sure is this? These were short lab sessions, and the abstract does not say how many children took part. So the studies show what happened right after praise, not lasting effects at home or school. Still, the same pattern appeared across the experiments in the paper.

    A second source, Baumeister 2003, is a large review of research on self-esteem in children and adults. It found that efforts to boost pupils’ self-esteem have not been shown to lift school results. Instead, the authors suggest praise as a reward for effort and real change in what a person does. Because this review is about self-esteem, not growth mindset for kids, it adds context rather than proof.

    What does this research not tell me?

    This research does not tell you what your child is like inside. A quick rebuild after a fall is one action on one day. Also, a long gap, or walking away, is just one action too.

    Talk of growth mindset for kids is everywhere, but the evidence here is narrow. The Mueller 1998 experiments looked at fifth graders in a lab, not young children building at home. Also, no study here shows that one phrase from a parent changes a child for years.

    If you have questions about how your child plays, learns or handles setbacks, ask your child’s doctor. A teacher who sees your child each week can also share what they notice in class.

    Where Mores Health fits

    Mores is a game where children build in a quiet open world. In the tower story, Mores would record the time from the collapse to the next piece placed. That gives a plain record of when a try again happened. Still, it does not tell you why the gap was short or long, or what filled it. Mores does not test or diagnose.

    Questions parents also ask

    How do I praise my child to build a growth mindset?

    In the Mueller 1998 experiments, praise for effort went along with children trying longer after failing. So you might name what your child did, such as ‘you tried a new base’, rather than calling them smart.

    Is there a right age to start growth mindset for kids?

    The studies here looked at fifth graders and at adults, so they do not answer this for younger children. Still, you can describe effort and actions out loud at any age.

    Is it okay to tell my child they are smart?

    In the Mueller 1998 lab studies, children praised for being smart gave up sooner after failing. That was a short lab effect, so it does not mean one comment will shape your child for years.

    Does building with blocks teach a growth mindset?

    No study here tested blocks. But building gives many small chances to see what your child does after something falls.

    Sources

    1. Mueller 1998. Praise for intelligence can undermine children’s motivation and performance.. Journal of personality and social psychology. doi:10.1037//0022-3514.75.1.33
    2. Baumeister 2003. Does High Self-Esteem Cause Better Performance, Interpersonal Success, Happiness, or Healthier Lifestyles?. Psychological science in the public interest : a journal of the American Psychological Society. doi:10.1111/1529-1006.01431

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    This article describes research and everyday behaviour; it is not medical advice. If you have questions about your child, ask their doctor.

    Mores Health is in early beta. Join the beta.

    Written with AI assistance from the studies listed above, and reviewed by a person before publishing.

  • Why is play important for children: the try-again loop

    Why is play important for children: the try-again loop

    Mores Health illustration for a story on play for children

    A girl in preschool is building a tower of blocks. It leans, wobbles and falls. She looks at the pile, picks up a wider block and starts again. Her parent, watching from the sofa, types a question: why is play important for children?

    The short answer is that play gives your child a place to practise planning and starting again. In a block tower, your child makes a plan, sees it fall, then tries a new way. Because a fallen tower costs nothing, that loop can repeat many times in one sitting.

    Play for children is one of many places where this kind of practice happens. However, the research is more careful than the popular claims. It does not show that any single kind of play is essential on its own.

    What does play do for children?

    Look again at the tower. Before the first block goes down, your child picks a spot and a block to start with. That choice is a small plan, even if no one says it out loud. Then the tower falls, and something has to come next.

    What comes next is the part that play makes room for. Your child might pick up the same blocks and stack them the same way. She might also switch to a wider base, place pieces more slowly, or walk off and come back later. Each of these is an action you can see, and each one leads to a new try.

    That is why people often describe play for children as a rehearsal space. A child can plan, see the plan fall, and start over many times in a single afternoon. Nobody keeps track, and nothing depends on getting it right the first time. So the loop of build, fall and retry can run as often as your child chooses.

    Still, a rehearsal space is not the same as proof of a lasting effect. Researchers have looked at what play links to later on, and the answers are less certain than many books suggest. The studies below set out what they saw, and how sure anyone can be.

    What can I watch for when children play at home?

    You do not need special toys to see this loop. Blocks, sand, cushions or a pile of boxes all make room for this kind of play for children. Then sit nearby, stay quiet, and watch what your child does just after something falls.

    At first, try not to fix the tower or suggest a next step. When you hold back for a moment, you get to see the whole loop from start to finish. Also, look at what changes from one try to the next, rather than how tall the tower ends up.

    • Watch how long it takes before your child picks up the next block after a fall.
    • Notice whether your child uses the same blocks again or switches to different ones.
    • See if your child rebuilds in the same spot or moves somewhere new.
    • Notice how many times your child starts over in one sitting.
    • Watch whether your child walks away and comes back to the build later.

    What do studies say about play for children?

    A major review by Lillard 2013 gathered research on pretend play in young children. It drew on many separate studies, so it gives no single count of children. The authors found no clear proof that pretend play is uniquely essential for language, reasoning or getting along with others. For problem solving, in fact, they found no clear sign that pretend play helps. So they called for much more, and more careful, research.

    A newer review, Vega-Fernandez 2026, looked at movement and arts programmes for young children. It included 125 studies, and the authors pooled 15 of those studies for the main analysis. For each skill, the pooled data covered between 642 and 697 children. On average, children in the programmes did more of what each task asked. The tasks had them hold back a response, keep things in mind, or switch between rules.

    However, the authors rated their confidence in these results as low, and results varied widely from study to study. Most programmes were structured lessons, a few used guided play, and none were free play. So this review cannot speak to open play for children who build on their own, like the girl with the tower.

    A third review, Bal 2024, pulled together 14 studies on screen time in early childhood. It measured screen time, not play, so it cannot show what play itself does. Still, the authors called for a balance between screens and real-world play for children.

    What this does not tell you

    This research does not tell you that any one kind of play will change how your child grows. It also does not tell you what a single fallen tower, or a single afternoon, means. The reviews looked at groups and averages, so they speak about many children at once, not about yours.

    Play for children comes in many forms, and the studies here cover only a few of them. Watching the build, fall and retry loop at home is a way to see what your child does, not a check of any kind. Your child might rebuild at once one day and walk away the next.

    If you have questions about it, ask your child’s doctor. A teacher or early years worker can also tell you what they see your child do in other settings.

    Where Mores Health fits

    Mores is a game where children build in a quiet open world, a little like the tower in this story. When a build falls, Mores records the time from that collapse to the next piece placed. That gives you a plain record of the same gap you can watch at home. It does not tell you why the gap was long or short, or what went on during it. Mores does not test or diagnose.

    Questions parents also ask

    Do children need to play every day?

    No study here tested how much play children need each day. Instead, the Lillard 2013 review suggests pretend play may be one of many routes to the same skills, not the only one.

    Is free play or structured play more useful for children?

    These studies cannot answer that. The Vega-Fernandez 2026 review included no free-play programmes in its main analysis, and its authors rated their confidence as low.

    Do I step in when my child’s tower falls?

    You can wait a moment first, so you see what your child does next. If your child asks for help or hands you a block, you can join in then.

    How does screen time fit with play?

    The Bal 2024 review of 14 studies measured screen time, not play. Its authors called for a balance between screens and real-world play.

    Sources

    1. Lillard 2013. The impact of pretend play on children’s development: a review of the evidence.. Psychological bulletin. doi:10.1037/a0029321
    2. Vega-Fernandez 2026. Early Childhood Movement- and Arts-Based Experiences and Executive Functions: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.. Children (Basel, Switzerland). doi:10.3390/children13091134
    3. Bal 2024. Examining the relationship between language development, executive function, and screen time: A systematic review.. PloS one. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0314540

    More stories

    This article describes research and everyday behaviour; it is not medical advice. If you have questions about your child, ask their doctor.

    Mores Health is in early beta. Join the beta.

    Written with AI assistance from the studies listed above, and reviewed by a person before publishing.