3-min read
2025-08-26
5-min read
Development isn't a race. It's a flow.
Every child—and parent—is figuring it out at their own pace.
Instead of milestones, we encourage you to focus on this amazing moment.
Your child’s brain makes more than one million neural connections per second in these first three years. Simple, consistent interactions with them today can have profound, lifelong benefits.
Here’s how little one’s brain is developing this month, and how you can support their progress.
Developmental Highlight
You might be familiar with the concept of fixed vs. growth mindset developed by psychologist Carol Dweck. Growth mindset thinking is focused on process and effort, while fixed mindset thinking is focused on outcomes.
Think back to month 23. Little one played with objects over and over again to understand them, which helped develop their predicting skills. Now, little one has expectations for how things will go. When things don’t go according to plan and little one doesn’t get instant gratification, it can trigger frustration, rather than curiosity.
That’s where the do-over comes in. It’s exactly what it sounds like: an opportunity to recover from a mistake or setback and get back in the game. Research shows that we learn more from our mistakes than our successes. With do-overs, we refine skills and build understanding through delayed gratification.
Brain-Building Activity
Do It Again
Routine: Anytime
Like exercise or a healthy diet, growth mindset thinking is a daily practice with lifelong benefits. Here are a few ways to foster it:
- Praise little one with “good trying” instead of “good job.” This puts the focus on the effort and process, rather than the outcome, removing the pressure to get something right the first time.
- Little one’s watching you closely to see how you handle mistakes or when things don’t go your way. Model growth mindset thinking by talking through low-stakes do-over scenarios. “Uh oh! I spilled the cereal. Let me clean that up and try a do-over.”
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Instead of jumping in to fix things when little one isn’t successful, invite them to try a do-over. “It’s okay that all the blocks fell down. Now you get to do a do-over! Let’s see what happens when you try again.”
You’ve Got This
Parenting is an important job, but you don’t need to get everything right the first time, either. You’re on a journey and will inevitably lose your way, hit some bumps, and need to refuel. With a growth mindset, you can take a beat to recover and then get back on the road.
When you forgive yourself for mistakes and embrace do-overs, you’re sending a powerful message to little one. You’re not just talking about growth mindset thinking. You’re embodying it.
