April 1, 2007

How not to talk to your kids

I found this article very fascinating, regarding the whole self-esteem movement. Especially pertinent to parents and teachers.

The Power (and Peril) of Praising your Kids

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow! That was very fascinating. I'm glad you posted it. I have always heard to praise specifically, but that article really reinforced it in my mind. I have noticed that when I praise my kids specifically (as vs. generally) they responds better. I also like to praise them for the things I WANT them to do. Ex. I need Eli to focus better when he is doing math, so I'll watch him like a hawk and "catch" him concentrating then praise him for it. Then he tries all the harder to focus. It really works!

Mary Ellen said...

That was very interesting...and made a lot of sense.

I hear parents often using these weird, high, LOUD sing-songy voices to delve out"fake praise" to their kids being horrible in stores when they make any kind of move that is in the right direction and I always think, "How annoying would it be to listen to that all day?" The kids know when praise is fake and insincere and it makes sense the wrong kind can actually work against them.

Funny how one generation can rarely/never praise then the next tries to hard and goes way overboard. Hopefully ours can find the balance.

Truckin Teeds said...

Very interesting! As a former teacher I enjoy keeping up with the latest research (especially when it confirms what I already think!) :)