05 March 2024 Avoidance of Error

Mistakes are the portals of discovery says James Joyce. The road to success is frequently bumpy, full of blunders and unexpected obstacles. It is common to make mistakes or come up short of the goals children set for themselves, but how they handle their mistakes is more important. Children must learn to reflect on their own behaviours, manage their emotions, use problem-solving skills, accept different perspectives, and compromise regardless of whether they make new or repeated mistakes. If parents intervene to solve these problems, children will miss out on the essential skill development that comes from making mistakes or failing. Over the course of a lifetime, learning from mistakes helps in developing wisdom and good judgement.


Avoidance of error is a person’s response to errors and the tendency to make rewarded choices while avoiding those that receive negative feedback. Since many children grow up in a society that expects them to be perfect, how can we teach them that making mistakes is part of the learning process? Providing opportunities for kids to learn from their mistakes has a major impact on their development. The benefits of children's learning from their errors, they can become more attentive when carrying out tasks in hand in order to prevent making new ones in the future. After all, not every child is perfect therefore, it’s common for children to make mistakes and these could be seen as wonderful opportunities to grow.


Children ought to learn from their own mistakes and it brings positive impacts on them. Some of the positive impacts are: 

  1. They will be more experienced and well-prepared in the future. 

Every decision we make in the real world has a consequence, whether good or bad. By creating mistake-driven learning experiences in your child’s schoolwork or household tasks or chores, you may allow your children to analyze the repercussions of their actions without having to incur any actual risks.

  1. Making mistakes provides them with self-assurance and confidence. 

This is because they are encouraged to find their own answers, and learners gain confidence and self-esteem through making errors. This empowers students to take charge of their own learning experience and to confront and be brave enough to overcome any obstacle. They now have the tools, skills, and information they need to make confident judgments and complete assignments.

  1. Making mistakes helps children to develop their problem-solving skills and critical-thinking abilities. 

They must utilize these skills to come up with realistic and effective actions for each work or challenge they are given. They learn how to make well-informed decisions and can identify how each option route leads to different results.

  1. Making mistakes boosts knowledge, memory, and comprehension. 

When learners formulate a solution on their own, they are more likely to absorb that information and commit it to their long-term memory. As children learn through problem-solving, they would remember better.  When they have to strive for the solution and search their knowledge base for the proper answer, this may provide them with a better understanding and be more aware of this when carrying out a similar task in the future.    

  1. Making mistakes allows children to take chances that contribute to personal development. 

Making errors in their learning settings allows them to take chances they would not have taken otherwise. They would probably not be as imaginative or creative in the actual world when tackling an issue because they are worried of the consequences.


When you make the same errors again and over, it is natural to become upset and self-critical. You may believe your child is the only one who does it, but you are not alone. Although each child's patterns are unique, we can all connect to the fundamental notion. The advice in this article applies to a wide range of recurring errors. Mistakes can always be improved by:

  1. Pointing out all the mistake that is being made

Understanding what the problem is in the first place is crucial to fixing it. It is better to think about a recent failure or a mistake that your child has made and write it at the top of a piece of paper.  After that formulate and express a specific concept of the error made since this will allow them to go backwards from the mistake to discover how they got there.

  1. Accepting apologies for making the error. 

People's perceptions of failure are not realistic reflections of what failure truly entails. The truth is that the vast majority of initiatives fail, and they fail for a variety of reasons. Failure is not a derogatory term. Failure simply implies that your child has attempted something and it failed. Yes, the repercussions of failure might be severe and even life-altering, but they still need to forgive themselves for making the mistake.

  1. Determine what constitutes a successful resolution.

The best way to find out the best solution is to write down what your child believes would constitute a successful settlement on my piece of paper. What exactly are they striving for? What exactly are they looking for? What are their objectives? What do you want your child to accomplish? Ask them to write that down, but keep in mind that success may not look precisely as they imagined so that they don't get too caught up in the notion of what success will look like.

  1. Look at different options for achieving the effective outcome they desire. 

The benefit of technological advancement is that children can learn and benefit from access to the internet for extra knowledge. Spend some time with your kids and teach them to find reliable information about what is their objective and the steps required in achieving it. This will give them a greater pool of knowledge to draw from in trying to plan out their new course of action.

  1. Be willing to attempt your new and unusual method once more.

The willingness to accept failure and try again is the most crucial step in achieving success.  Your new strategy may fail. That's how things go sometimes. You may need to alter your plan and try again, depending on what you're doing.


References: 

Beasley, R. (2016). Dissonance and decision-making mistakes in the age of risk. Journal of European public policy, 23(5), 771-787. 

Borucka, K. (2021, March 29). How To Avoid Careless Mistakes At Work? Timecamp. Https://www.timecamp.com/blog/2017/11/how-to-avoid-mistakes-at-work/ 

Learning from mistakes: How to motivate your child to see the good side of making mistakes. The Learning Lab Asia. (2022, March 1). Retrieved October 21, 2022, from https://www.thelearninglab.asia/child-development/learning-from-mistakes-how-to-motivate-your-child-to-see-the-good-side-of-making-mistakes/ 

Pappas, C. (2021, May 12). 7 Benefits Of Mistake-Driven Learning. Elearning Industry. Https://elearningindustry.com/7-benefits-of-mistake-driven-learning

Willis, J., & Willis, D. (2013). Doing task-based teaching-Oxford handbooks for language teachers. Oxford University Press.  

This will feel very daunting if your child concentrates solely on removing all mistakes from your life. If you strive with them to improve, there are a plethora of practical solutions you can try, and you'll almost certainly have a lot more success. If you take a non-judgmental problem-solving approach to address their patterns, it will help your child in coping with the mistakes and present better. These problem-solving skills can go a long way in your child’s growth, as the more ideas your child has in solving certain issues, the less likely he or she will commit the same lapses in judgment in the future. To understand more about this avoidance of error trait, head to our website on the Decode Talent DNA Test to find out!