This weeks Cherishing the Cherubs project focuses on Praise.
Praise and positive reinforcement is a crucial element in providing our children with much that they need in order to approach life with a healthy optimism, self esteem and sense of pride.
In the past I have written about not relying on Praise alone to build positive self esteem, but rather it is one of the many tools we must use in order to raise happy and confident kids. I do however think there are some areas where we don’t always quite get it right.
In the early years we have no trouble heaping praise on our little cherubs as they learn to clap their hands, crawl, walk and kick a ball. It is the later years however, particularly the teenage years, where this praise often diminishes to a trickle. I recently read that teenagers, on average, hear one positive comment for every five negative ones. Not having reached that stage myself I am well aware that those said teenagers may sometimes make it difficult for one to heap on the praise. But with all the weird stuff going on in the teenage brain, the influx of hormones and the physical changes to their bodies, it is important to remember that these are crucial years in their development and we need to ensure the praise we so readily bestow on them in the early years, continues throughout these later ones. [Read more...]
