Over-praising children is tantamount to lying to them. If a teacher or parent needs to resort to embellishment then they have misread the child.
Developing trust is absolutely not negotiable when it comes to children. Once you are caught out on a lie or exaggeration you stand to lose the trust of the child, rendering everything else you say as meaningless.
But over-praising isn’t just lying, it is lazy. Every child has unique and interesting aspects to their personality. Every child possesses skills and praiseworthy character traits. If you find yourself over-praising your student, it means that you haven’t yet fully appreciated the child for who he/she is.
One can only love ones self if one understands themself. Self-confidence can only be attained once the person is in tune with his/her true abilities. That’s why genuine praise is so profoundly important. By reminding children of their legitimate positive aspects and traits, you will help them get in touch with who they are and what they can be. If you lie to them, sooner or later they will work it out and may choose to dismiss or neglect their greatest qualities as a result.
Some would say if you haven’t got anything authentic to say, don’t say anything at all. I say, don’t stop until you have something real to praise a child with.
And then keep on supporting that child to the best of your abilities. They are worth it!
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Tags: Child Development, Children, Children Confidence, Children Praise, Children Self Esteem, Education, How To Praise Children, How To Praise Kids, kids, Lying to children, Over-praising children, Parenting, Praise Children, Praise Children Self Esteem, Self-Esteem, Spoiling children, Spoiling kids, The Third Metric
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