Who would have thought it possible to make a mistake in giving a compliment? I always thought words of affirmation were important for building self-confidence and raising achievement levels! That’s what I was taught, anyway. Besides that, praise and words of affirmation are accepted ingredients in the recipe called the Five Love Languages (BLOG)! So, what is the truth?
Praise as Interaction
In order to really understand today’s blog in its context, I would encourage you to first read Praiseworthy Praise Part 1 from last week's BLOG.
Praise is understood as an action between individuals, but that's not all. A healthy lifestyle or a successful professional life can also create an inner sense of praise and recognition (self-worth) in us.
For the moment, let us turn our attention to our children, the important people of the future. Special care and attention, wisdom and farsightedness are needed in their education and training. This is a huge challenge for us as adults. Let us begin deep inside the heart of a child, where self-worth begins.
Feelings of Self-Worth Make a Difference
We used to believe there was a simple relationship between praise and feelings of self-worth: the more praise, the greater the feeling of self-worth. However, when a child is praised for acts that should be normal, like finishing his or her homework or drying the dishes at the age of 12, it can have the opposite effect.
This type of misplaced praise can lead children to set low goals. They think of themselves as brilliant and feel no need to develop further. These children don’t learn how to struggle and strive to achieve their goals. This attitude also makes life difficult for teachers. An overdeveloped sense of self-worth can not only destroy a child’s desire and ability to learn, it can also increase the tendency toward substance abuse and violence.
There are unfortunately more and more neglected children who spend their days in front of the TV or with their Smartphones (often like their parents) oblivious of any feelings of responsibility. We can assume the fan club mentality manifested by their parents and grandparents left its mark, continually applauding them for actions they had mastered more than a year earlier. A growing sense of complacency replaced their natural inclination to strive for more.
Fortunately, there are also parents who communicate with their children in a thoughtful and controlled tone: sensible, soft and loving.
Cats Never Bark
Some parents are so ambitious and have such high expectations in raising their children that enormous pressure is created for the child. Many parents praise their children in order to increase their performance. Their motivation is really their own pride: they only feel proud of their child and of themselves when their child is successful. They are not thinking of how to help the child to be happy, but how to achieve success. Many children who are trained to be perfectionists suffer with these expectations later in life.
Therefore, it is important to accept each child as he or she is and not try to remake him or her into a model for our desired list of achievements. A cat will never learn to bark!
Do children come into the world to meet their parents’ needs, or is it the other way around?
As parents and educators, we are challenged to analyze our expectations. In our efforts to help our children develop, we must always be aware of their developmental stage. When defeat comes, we should not let them feel our disappointment, but continue to motivate them with goal-oriented encouragement.
Children are always happy with themselves when they have accomplished something that matches their abilities, that is, when they are not over or under challenged. In this process, it is important that the educator concentrate more on the child’s strengths, giving less attention to weaknesses.
More important than speaking the right words at the right time is having the right attitude toward one’s child, spouse, life and self.
So, if a parent or another person in authority notices his or her communication consists mostly of prohibitions and commands, or trying to keep a semblance of order through power struggles, then it’s high time to take a look in the mirror.
Dangerous Discipline
Obedience at any cost is a risky rule. Although children who learn to live within limits and rules that are based on sensible principles are generally much happier than those who don’t, this obedience must never be achieved at the cost of relationship. Love must always be the undisputed basis for every act of discipline. If love is missing, or if a child does not FEEL unconditionally loved, praise and rewards can be just as devastating as punishment, just more subtle. They can actually be a form of abuse and manipulation disguised as goodness and generosity. The message conveyed says, “You are loved when you obey.” See conditional love - BLOG.
Today we know that many children who grow up without discipline, in the laissez faire – style, report having big problems in relationships as adults. On the other hand, children who learned that NO meant NO and experienced the presence of defined boundaries were able to enjoy happy relationships as adults. Loving authority is still an absolute necessity that children highly appreciate.
Perilous Pride
Praise can cause many different feelings and reactions. This becomes clear when we see how hard it is, even for adults, to deal with sincere compliments. In such situations, we see embarrassment, speechlessness and blushing. For this reason, it would be a good idea for children to be taught how to deal with praise at a young age. Being able to recognize and express one’s own feelings is an important foundation for other skills needed later in life. Parents can encourage these basic skills in children by implementing praise properly.
Wise King Solomon once said, "Pride causes problems." Can praise cultivate pride? Certainly. Praise that is aimed directly at a person has a direct influence on his or her ego, for example saying, “YOU’re so beautiful, strong, or nice!” or “YOU’re such a good cook, driver or artist.” When these kinds of compliments are often repeated, pride is nurtured.
Consequently, it is better to leave the word “you” out and compliment actions and products rather than the person who did or produced them. So, instead of, “You can draw so nicely!” we would better say, “I really like that drawing!” In this way, attention is drawn to the object, the product or the accomplishment, rather than to the person directly.
Some temperaments, especially melancholies (BLOG), react quite adversely to compliments directed at them personally. With them, it is especially recommended to stay at the objective level and avoid “you” compliments. This will make communication easier for all concerned.
Learning how to handle both successes and failures can be very challenging. Having good role models for how to deal with winning and losing games can be very helpful in learning those skills.
Performance Panic
If a child tends to give up in the face of difficulty, we can strengthen his or her will to keep trying by showing approval as partial successes are achieved. "I’m glad you tried again.” “It’s good you kept at it, in spite of the difficulties.” “Congratulations for not giving up too easily.”
The critical point is when we praise children for their talents and intelligence. That is dangerous business. A child should not be put up on a pedestal and learn to think his or her skills and talents are hereditary. “Either you have it, or you don’t.” This line of thought can create a fear of performance in children. It is actually a fear of making mistakes, because a mistake would indicate a lack of intelligence or a defect in them as a person.
7 Points on Praising People (Children)
We all need praise and appreciation, especially children! Parents reinforce positive behavior in their children through praise, and children learn through it. Praise is simply part and parcel of educating children well. Giving each other compliments and motivating children with positive input strengthens self-awareness and family life in general.
1. Prudent Praise
We all need praise and appreciation, especially children! Parents reinforce positive behavior in their children through praise, and children learn through it. Praise is simply part and parcel of educating children. Giving each other compliments and motivating children with positive input strengthens self-awareness and family life in general.
2. Precise Praise
A blanket statement like “Great!” or “Well done!” often holds little meaning for children.
- Clearly formulated praise helps a child to get his or her bearings on “Mount Achievement” and recognize what he or she actually did well. For example, “The colors were well chosen,” for the picture he or she is drawing.
- In this way, one can adapt praise to the achievement at hand to make it varied and stimulating.
- General verbalizations can demotivate children when followed by specific critique, whether by the same person or someone else. Since they understood the general compliment personally, they will also take the critique personally. The safest course is to stick with the facts.
3. Praise for Production
Try not to compliment the personality, skills and talents of a child (“You’re so artistic!”), but rather the effort and dedication he or she demonstrated ("The lines in this picture are very straight and carefully done!”). By praising the effort and energy the child put into a task, we can strengthen his or her self-awareness. It’s important to not only recognize the finished product, but also to show appreciation for the work and process that produced it. These are the aspects the child can influence.
4. No Praise
Praising banalities and things that should be a matter of course communicate a low standard of expectation: the child will think you are content with low achievements and that you don’t believe he or she can do much better. They are also not motivated to give their best. It’s good to set goals and praise efforts made toward reaching them.
5. Perfect Pattern for Praise
There is actually no hard and fast basic rule for the perfect amount of praise. Complimenting too little and too seldom produces discontent: people who don’t get compliments for special achievements can eventually lose their motivation. On the other hand, constant praise can becomes tedious. Its effect is weakened, and the credibility of the one who gives it may be called into question. Too much praise can also create dependence, in which people only produce when persuaded by praise. In such cases, their natural, intrinsic motivation has been weakened or completely eradicated. (BLOG)
6. Punctual Praise
Words of affirmation and praise should be given promptly on the heels of positive behavior: a compliment given an hour after the fact is significantly less effective. Because the brain stores information in different areas sequentially, an immediate compliment will be coupled with the action, and the good feelings will always be associated with it. If the positive reinforcement occurs an hour later, the words of praise will be saved in another file in the brain and will not be as effective for motivational purposes. Dog owners are well acquainted with the truth of this principle. The opposite is also true.
7. Praise for Premiers
When a child is learning a new skill or behavior, it is a good idea to give them a little more incentive at the outset. We as adults also appreciate encouragement when we are trying to learn something new and difficult. Later, when the learned behavior is beginning to jell, a well-placed compliment now and then will help ensure a permanent place in the person’s practical experience.
Remember the important role of appreciation and recognition in the process of enhancing performance in adults as well as children. A team that works together, wins together! (BLOG)
Links:
- www.mit-kindern-lernen.ch/motivation-1-loben
- www.swissmom.ch/kind/erziehung/foerdern-und-unterstuetzen/kinder-richtig-loben
