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Praising kids does more harm than good
Praising your children often may damage their confidence as experts claim “empty” comments make the kids unhappy.
Praising your children often may damage their confidence as experts claim “empty” comments make the kids unhappy.
According to leading psychologist Stephen Grosz, comments such as “you’re so clever” or “you’re such an artist” could also hinder the kids’ future performance at school.
Grosz said that such “empty praise” causes children to be unhappy as they feel they cannot live up to the false expectations, the Daily Mail reported.
Instead he advises parents and teachers to bestow compliments less frequently and use phrases that congratulate children for “trying really hard”.
“Empty praise is as bad as thoughtless criticism — it expresses indifference to the child’s feelings and thoughts,” said Grosz.
“Admiring our children may temporarily lift our sense of self-esteem but it isn’t doing much for a child’s sense of self,” he said.
