As a father to two young girls, I am often scared thinking about raising them into strong, independent women. This is balanced by wanting to shelter them from the outside world, to pushing them to try new things, expanding their horizon to learn more everyday about the amazing world we live - both the beauty and the despair.
I came across this article this morning that talked about "The Trouble with Bright Girls," and highlighted one possible theory that showcased that young bright girls when presented with something unique to learn, were quick to give up. The higher the IQ, the quicker they were to give up. Bright boys on the other had, saw the difficult task as a challenge and found it energizing. They were more likely to redouble their efforts than to give up.
The theory is in how girls vs. boys interpret difficulty, finding that girls were much quicker to doubt their ability, lose confidence and become less effective learners. The reason? Bright girls believe that their abilities are innate and unchangeable, while the boys believe that they can develop their abilities through hard work and practice.
These perceptions are created in how we as parents provide them feedback. When girls do well in school (and often as girls develop faster than boys they see this more often) we praise them for their abilities, "so smart," "such a good student." Boys who are more active are often provided feedback that emphasizes effort, "If you would just pay attention you could learn to do this."
The full article can be found here. I would love to hear from other parents that have raised girls - do you agree with this article? Is there a way that we can be positive and supportive, but stress the ability to achieve more through hard work and effort?
