Question

learning tenacity by watching tenacity
educators and parents want to know how to foster persistence when children encounter challenges. our study suggests that persistence can be learned from adult models. babies attentively watch those around them, and use that information to guide their own effortful behavior.

yet babies dont simply learn they should try harder at everything. just like grownups, babies make rational decisions about effort. if they observe someone trying hard and succeeding, they try harder. when they see someone effortlessly succeed, they infer that effort may not be worthwhile.

so what does this mean for parents? we cant presume that our results would work for parents in the home just as they work in the laboratory. however, if you know your toddler can achieve a task if she tries hard, it might be worth modeling effort and success for her first. let us know if it works! wed also like to know how lasting these effects can be, whether infants might generalize the value of effort to a broader range of contexts and how adult models of effort compare with explicit messages about the importance of effort. we hope to explore these questions in future studies.

finally, this study suggests that parents dont have to make things look easy all the time. the next time you struggle to open that tomato container, its ok, maybe even beneficial, to let your child see you sweat.

text: \babies can learn the value of persistence by watching grownups stick with a challenge\ by julia leonard, massachusetts institute of technology, september 21, 2017. ©the conversation 2017, cc by-nd. image: \untitled\ by jelleke vanooteghem is licensed under cc0.

writing prompt: based on this article, what advice would you give to parents? what evidence do you have to support that advice?

write multiple paragraphs in at least one full handwritten page on a lined sheet of paper.

Explanation:

To answer this, we first analyze the article. The study shows babies learn persistence from adult models. When adults try hard and succeed, babies infer effort is worth it; if success is effortless, they think effort isn't worthwhile. Also, parents don't need to make everything look easy.

For advice, parents should model effortful success. For example, when doing a challenging task (like assembling furniture), let the child see the struggle and eventual success. The evidence is the study's finding that babies make rational decisions about effort—they try harder when they see hard work leading to success and don't when success is effortless. Also, the study suggests it's beneficial for children to see parents "sweat" (struggle) as it helps them learn the value of persistence. Another advice is to not always make tasks seem easy at home, as the article says parents don't have to make things look easy all the time. The evidence is the study's implication that seeing effortless success makes babies think effort isn't worth it, so showing effortful actions helps foster persistence.

Answer:

Advice 1: Model Effortful Success for Your Child

Parents should intentionally demonstrate putting in effort to achieve goals in front of their children. For instance, when working on a difficult puzzle, let the child observe you trying different strategies, getting frustrated at times, and then finally succeeding. The article provides evidence for this: it states that babies “make rational decisions about effort” and “try harder” when they see someone “trying hard and succeeding.” This means that by showing your child how hard work leads to success, you teach them that persistence is valuable.

Advice 2: Don’t Always Make Tasks Look Easy

Parents should avoid pretending that every task is simple. For example, when opening a stubborn jar or fixing a toy, don’t hide the struggle—let your child see you exert effort (even if you could do it easily). The study supports this by noting that when babies see “someone effortlessly succeed, they infer that effort may not be worthwhile.” Additionally, the article directly advises parents that “you don’t have to make things look easy all the time” and that it can be “beneficial to let your child see you sweat.” This shows that exposing children to your effortful actions (rather than only effortless success) helps them learn to value persistence.

By following these pieces of advice, parents can use the natural way babies learn from observation to foster persistence. The study’s findings about how babies interpret adult behavior—linking effort to success or dismissing effort when success looks easy—provide clear support for why these actions will help children develop tenacity.