Homestead Mama | 
01 1st, 2008| 
Self-Esteem. It is probably one of the bullet points on most parent’s list of “things I want my child to have.”
How does one help foster self-esteem? The “off the cuff” answer is often praise. We feel we should tell our child “good job” every time they ever attempt anything.
However, what is this really teaching our children? If they are told time and time again that they are good at EVERYTHING they ever try – what kind of attitude will they eventually develop about their own strenghts, weaknesses, and the need for applying oneself toward a goal?
When my children are adults, it is my hope they will understand both their strenghts and weakenesses. It is my sincere desire that they know that they CAN accomplish what ever the put their mind to and WORK HARD to achieve. When I praise them in ALL they do, am I undermining my own goal as a parent?
If we praise all they do, are we (in the end) teaching our kids that they don’t have to “try hard” to be good at something? Are we leading our kids away from the values of hard work, perserverance, and commitment to a task?
I think we are.
Instead of always praising – I am doing my best to tell my kids kindly when they did not to well. I ask them if they want or wanted to do better… and we talk about how they can do better next time. Of course, when they do well – I tell them how well they did.
Praise has a time and a place – but it is not all the time.
