Or at least with certain kinds of praise.
The New York Magazine has a really interesting cover article on the dangers associated with praising kids. You really should read the article for yourself, but here’s the main point:
1) Kids who are told that they’re smart are more likely to underperform, to refuse challenges (after all, challenges threaten their status as smart), to stigmatize effort, to have shorter task persistence, to not feel as autonomous, to feel a need to cut down competitors, to lie about their own abilities, to cheat …
2) 85 percent of American parents think it’s important to tell their kids that they’re smart.
Read the article; it has lots of interesting bits in it.
Maybe, just maybe, research like that reported in this article will help our culture finally shed its decades-long daft obsession with praise and self-esteem. One can only hope.
Sydney
Alan Schmierer
While I’m with you on this one Sydney, I’d like to know the other side of the story. How much is too much – when is not enough? There needs to be balance so children develop confidence in their abilities, to know they are capable of learning and achieving – to make their own way. When confidence and self-esteem are not there, the lack thereof can become almost debilitating and have a life long adverse affect.