Taking on Challenges

Thanks to member, Jennifer Karshna, for summarizing Chapter 6: Taking on Challenges. Now it’s even easier to join in WAEYC's monthly, virtual book club!

What does taking on a challenge mean to you?

For Galinsky, challenge is about managing stress. Mind in the Making’s sixth chapter, Taking on Challenges, describes stress and its effect on people.

Each person handles stress in their own, unique way. Researcher Megan Gunnar from the University of Minnesota studied the biology of stress and how it affects the body. When we perceive a threat, a message is sent to the brain to decide if it is serious. If the answer is yes, a message goes to the nervous system and creates a physical reaction. You are probably familiar with what happens: breathing, heart rate, blood pressure increase. The stress hormone, cortisol, is released which activates your body to physically respond to the danger. The significance of this is that resources are pulled “away from things that have to do with growth and repair—immune system and physical growth….” Once the danger has passed, your body returns to its normal state of growth and repair.

Galinsky asserts that while stress can have negative impacts, it is also a part of life. Some stress is caused by “everyday challenges.” With support, children learn to effectively cope with this type of stress. For the more serious situations that cause stress, there are two important “factors that matter”. One is the length of time the stress is experienced. The other is the importance of a supportive adult to help a child cope with the stress. In early childhood education we often talk about the importance of relationships. This is a good example of how positive relationships with adults can have a significant impact on a child.

According to Galinsky the other “factors that matter” are temperament and how adults themselves manage stressful situations. It is the adults’ ability to help children learn to manage their own stress that plays an important role in a child’s ability to develop the skills necessary for coping with challenges.

While all these factors influence stress and how children learn to handle it, the way children see themselves can also help them manage stress and challenging situations. Galinsky calls it a “Mindset that Matters.” Referencing research by Carol Dweck of Stanford University, Galinsky articulates two different mindsets. Some children seem to enjoy challenges and see solving problems as rewarding. This is referred to as a “growth mindset.” Others are more performance-oriented, and have a view of themselves as less able to take on challenges. This is seen as a “fixed mindset.” As you can imagine from the words “growth” and “fixed” this way of thinking can have quite an effect on coping with stress and challenge!

Each of us has our own ideas and feelings about what “challenge” means. I hope you will join the webinar Tuesday, March 20 as we explore and share these additional ideas!