Why is encouragement of effort important in child development?

Encouraging effort in children is crucial for their development as it supports resilience and fosters a growth mindset. When children receive praise for their effort rather than just their inherent abilities, they learn that perseverance and hard work lead to improvement and success. This belief helps them to tackle challenges more effectively, as they understand that overcoming obstacles is part of the learning process.

Supporting resilience means that children become better equipped to handle setbacks because they have been taught that effort and persistence are valuable. By fostering a growth mindset, children are encouraged to embrace challenges and view them as opportunities for development rather than as threats to their self-worth. This approach ultimately leads to long-term benefits in their learning and personal development, allowing them to develop a love for learning and a greater sense of self-efficacy.

In contrast to this correct answer, options suggesting that encouragement diminishes learning or creates an overreliance on external validation overlook the positive impacts of praising effort. Similarly, the idea that it limits the exploration of challenging tasks fails to recognize that encouragement can actually motivate children to take on new challenges, reinforcing their willingness to explore and learn.