How Negative Automatic Thoughts impact your child’s academic performance!
Negative Automatic Thoughts
They tell a story that isn’t true, but it’s only your brain’s way of trying to protect you.
Negative Automatic Thoughts (NATs) are subconscious, habitual negative self-statements that can significantly impact a child’s confidence and academic success. These thoughts often arise when children face challenges in learning and can lead to feelings of self-doubt, anxiety, and avoidance behaviours. Understanding and addressing NATs is essential for helping children develop a positive learning mindset. In this blog post, we will briefly explore the psychological theories behind NATS, their impact on academic performance, and practical strategies for parents and teachers to help children overcome them.
What are Negative Automatic Thoughts (NATs)
NATs are self-critical thoughts that occur instantly in response to specific situations. These thoughts are often irrational and based on cognitive distortions, your brain’s way of understanding a situation or stimulus. For example, a child struggling with math may think, “I’ll never be good at this,” without considering past improvements, successes or alternative perspectives.
Psychologist Aaron Beck, the founder of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), identified NATs as a core component of anxiety and depression, particularly when NATs are the dominant thought process of 60% or more of a person’s day. Common cognitive distortions in children include:
All-or-Nothing Thinking: “If I don’t get everything right, I’m a failure.”
Overgeneralisation: “I failed this test, so I’ll always fail tests.”
Mind Reading: “The teacher thinks I’m not smart.”
Catastrophizing: “If I don’t do well on this assignment, my life is over.”
Are there any upsides?
Well…actually yes…kind of.
It's essential to see NATS not just as a sign of fear, but as an internal fire alarm to worries that might not always be obvious or understood. If the child is constantly thinking they will fail in a particular subject, what is it about failing or the subject itself that they truly fear? NATs may not be accurate, but they at least let us know where our fears are so that we can address them directly.
NATs can also be seen as a way of your mind protecting you from harm, like flinching or sticking your hands out to catch a ball that has been pump-faked to you (sorry, basketball reference). The intention of NATS isn’t bad, it's just misguided.
The Impact of NATs on Academic Performance
Negative self-talk can significantly affect a child's motivation, emotional well-being, and academic outcomes. Some key ways NATs interfere with learning include:
Lower Motivation & Effort
Children who believe they are incapable of succeeding may stop trying, leading to disengagement from learning.
Increased Anxiety & Avoidance
Fear of failure may cause children to avoid participation, procrastinate on assignments, or experience test anxiety.
Fixed Mindset vs. Growth Mindset
According to Carol Dweck’s Growth Mindset Theory, children who see intelligence as fixed (“I’m just bad at math”) are less likely to persevere compared to those who believe abilities can grow with effort.
Attribution Theory & Self-Esteem
Based on Weiner’s Attribution Theory, children who attribute failures to internal, stable factors (“I’m dumb”) rather than external, changeable ones (“I didn’t study enough this time”) may struggle with self-esteem and resilience.
How Parents & Teachers Can Support Children with their NATs
Helping children recognise and challenge NATs can transform their learning experience. Above all, however, it is important to normalise the process of having NATs. Remind your child that even you have NATs from time-to-time. Other effective strategies include:
1. Identify Negative Automatic Thoughts
The first step to challenging NATs is to recognise when their thoughts are indeed NATs. Pay attention to the speed, content and frequency of your child’s negative opinions of their ability/capability. Have they said this before? Do they follow it up with something positive? Do they seem like they believe these negative self-thoughts? depending on the answer, your child may have a stubborn NAT on their hands rather than just a one-off, temporary anxiety response. If so, then consider the below strategies.
Encourage children to express their thoughts when they feel discouraged.
Use a thought journal to track patterns of negative self-talk.
Help children recognise that thoughts are not always facts.
2. Challenge & Reframe NATs
Teach children to ask: “Is this thought true? What evidence supports or contradicts it?”
Offer alternative perspectives, such as: “You made a mistake, but that means you’re learning.”
Use role models’ experiences to show that mistakes are part of success.
3. Promote a Growth Mindset
Praise effort and strategies rather than innate ability (e.g., “You worked hard on this” instead of “You’re smart”).
Normalise mistakes as part of the learning process.
Encourage children to set small, achievable goals and celebrate progress.
4. Create a Supportive Learning Environment
Reduce pressure by focusing on progress, not perfection.
Use positive reinforcement to build confidence.
Provide structured support and break tasks into manageable steps.
5. Teach Relaxation & Coping Strategies
Introduce mindfulness techniques such as deep breathing to manage anxiety.
Encourage movement breaks and stress-relief activities.
Teach problem-solving skills to help children approach challenges with confidence
Conclusion
Negative Automatic Thoughts can be a significant barrier to academic success, but with the proper support, children can learn to manage and reframe them. By fostering a growth mindset, encouraging positive self-talk, and creating a supportive learning environment, parents and teachers can help children develop resilience and confidence in their abilities, leading to happier and more fulfilling learning experiences.
Meet Ning An Tao (宁安涛)
Ning is a 27-year-old post-grad psychology student from Taipei City, Taiwan, whose thesis study is on helping children and young adults overcome Negative Automatic Thoughts in the classroom environment. With a calm, cautious and serene nature, Ning loves helping others navigate life’s waves through sharing her findings and research.
Look out for her upcoming series of NAT tips where she’ll do just that with handy, practical and applicable strategies and tools for you to use with your children!
非常感谢 (fēicháng gǎnxiè - Thank you very much)
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