How much praise is too much praise? I am trying to not raise brats.

Miriam - posted on 02/07/2012

thank you Shari. No I would not mind at all :+)

Shari - posted on 02/07/2012

Thanks Miriam your experience within your classroom and your own kids is invaluable! Thanks so much for helping us all. Would you mind if I repost your response on my blog?

Miriam - posted on 02/07/2012

my twins are 12 months old and I praise them every time as well. I have a 9 year old that I did that with and he is a perfectly well behaved A honor roll student with great confidence! so I think it is good. I am also a teacher and see so many kids with low self esteem. I think it helps kids grow sure to know that mom thinks Im the best!!!

Shari - posted on 02/05/2012

Ok thanks so much!

Kelly - posted on 02/05/2012

Sorry it took so long to get back to you. yes, you can re-post

Shari - posted on 01/31/2012

Thanks Jodi!

Jodi - posted on 01/31/2012

not a problem at all! And feel free to re-post. Also feel free to fix any typos! lmbo

Shari - posted on 01/31/2012

Great advice too! Do u guys mind if I post your responses on my site? I will say they are from anonymous. Thanks for responding! This helps a lot.

Shari - posted on 01/31/2012

Thanks! That's the way I have felt so far too!

Jodi - posted on 01/31/2012

okay, so I have read article after article where there is no such thing as too much praise...but there is the wrong kind of praise. Such as, if your child draws a picture, you really don't have to act like every single drawing is a masterpiece, what's more important for their confidence is to nitpick your praise. example: "Wow, you put a lot of detail in your picture of a plane, you even included landing gear!" or "I ttook you a long time to draw that, you worked really on it and it shows! It's fantastic!" or for a sports game; "I'm so proud of you! You have practiced every day and that shows a lot of dedication." Obviously you need to make it age appropriate, but I try to point out when my children try really hard, or when my 3 year old shows a lot of patience with her little sisters ("I know it's frustrating, but you're being so patient while mommy is busy with your sisters!") rather than just saying, "Hey! You drew a picture, yaaay you!" Since I've started this, I've noticed my daughter putting more thought, effort and concentration into her artwork, her block houses and such She also seems to be more confident in the things she does, probably because she knows that if she actually tries hard, it's a job well done.



You are absolutely right, thre isn't going to be someone following them around every day praising them like the sun shine's out of their...well...you know! They will have to earn that pat on the back. That's not to say you should never praise your child except when they behave as an adult, but picking what part of something to praise makes it more personal I think, makes them more proud. I probably still praise my children as much as I did before...just in a different way, and that has made all the difference in my daughter. She understand that I'm noticing the effort, the little things, the umph she put into it.

Kelly - posted on 01/31/2012

I personally do not think that you could ever give your kids too much praise. I think it is important to tell your kids how proud you are of them, how much you love them and how great they are every day. Especially once they get into school and have so much negitivity thrown at them. I completely understand what you are saying about setting them up for disappointment, but I feel like their Mom is the one person that should be giving them constant praise. That is what a mom is there for. That is just my personal opinion. I have 5 kids under the age of 7(two sets of twins) so maybe I will feel different when they are older, but when they are this young I feel like I should do everything I can to "build them up."