Praising children
This is a piece of school work, written phonetically by my son when he was five and in prep
I love the way young children write as their innocence comes alive on paper.
Praising children; tell them the reason
His teacher has praised and commented on his work, with the reason as to why it’s good.
When you praise a child, it is important to explain why you are pleased with them, it gives the child a comprehension and understanding of how well they have done and why you are pleased with them.
Saying “That’s good” or “You are a good girl/boy” without touching on the specifics, does not give the child any guidelines to why you are happy with them.
Since this writing piece over a year ago, my son remembers most of the time that using a capital letters and full stops are important and make his writing better.
Praising children helps behaviour
So remember praising children is good, say your proud but follow through with the reason why, it will make a big difference, especially when you apply it to child behaviour.
It reinforces to the child why he is being praised and utimaltely every child does want their parents love and approval, the reinforcement by you ,will help them repeat the positives.
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I discovered your blog last week and started follow your posts religiously. I have not commented on any blog just yet but I was thinking I would love to. It’s really exciting to actually contribute to a article even if it’s only a blog. I really don’t know exactly what to write other than I really enjoyed reading through 2 of the articles. Nice articles indeed. I sure will keep visiting your blog weekly. I learned quite a bit from you. Thx!
I agree- positive, MEANINGFUL praise is so important for children, and when said aloud is even more powerful. Then it not only affects the child you are ‘praising’ but the children surrounding them. For example, ‘I like the way you say speak loudly when it is your turn. We can all hear you.’
I feel this is an article that all parents and teachers should read. The power of positive praise is so undervalued! A super article!
I find that if I praise my son he always asks why? He likes a full explanation as to why he was a good boy at the party etc and when I offer an explanation it is a reference point for next time. So next when we go to a party I remind him of how good he was last time and to keep up the same good behaviour.
Its hard to remember to praise specifics but definately worth it in the end. Praise is good in general but specific praise really reinforces which bit of what they did was good not just their behaviour in general.
I love your no nonsense, common sense approach. I will definitely be bookmarking this blog. So far everything I have read on here resonates with my own thoughts on parenting 🙂
I love blogs like this as they are great reminders. I do find myself saying sometimes ‘ good boy’ without following through and while it is only sometimes it is so good to read your helpful blog and have something to remember next time my son does something good!
Easy peasy kids is in my favourite list and i have found that it always tells me something new about child’s behaviour and how we should behave to improve our kid’s development.
This post is also very inspiring as i have learnt how important it is to praise a child and to tell him the reason for praise….
awesome! I love when kids begin to write too
Praise is so much more beneficial to moulding behaviour than negativity. The only thing is that one of my 4 children does not respond to praise, he has severe ADHD and praise is not enough sometimes!
So true. If I hear “Good Girl!!!” one more time from a grandparent I am going to stick a pin in my eye.
New follower here. I need your words to explain why I do things the way I do.
Thanks, Lee
That is so funny!!!! My son (who is now 9) does things like this all the time. What a nice remark from the teacher to not comment on the misspellings, but just the positives of fullstops,etc
I agree that constructive praise is important, I also believe that constructive criticism is also. That way children (and adults) can improve their behaviour and output.
Great Advice! We all benefit from a little praising every now and then.
Very well put! If you tell them exactly what you were happy with then those comments stick in their mind and they generally remember the next time too, and they know exactly what they can do, and can do well. It’s great positive re-inforcement! and also works on any age.
Totally agree with this! Making the praise specific helps encourage them to continue with those behaviours.
Agree wholeheartedly! What a great article!
My mum kept many little pieces like this from myself and my sisters (19, 21, 28) We recently found a book in a box filled with our innocent spelling mistakes and gorgeous little stories. My personal fave was when i was in hospital having my appendix out, and both sisters wrote about it expressing their love. One hoped she didnt catch it and the other hoped i also stayed in hospital forever so she coudl have my room.
Now, i look foreward to collecting my son (3) artwork and stories and making my own collection for him to stumble across when he is in his early adulthood.
(and for myself to have a sneak peek as he grows older so i can remember the innocent times) 🙂
I have so many pieces of my kids work, that now I take a photo for some of their things:) Love your sisters letters, had a giggle myself.xx
This is a great site, so much great info and advice, wish i had found it sooner 🙂
Thank you xx
Hello, I am just visiting your blog after seeing you speak at DPCON12. So much great information here. This is really practical useful advice. I look forward to following you! Cheers, Mez
Hi Mez, Did we meet? I keep having to ask this question, makes me feel a little bad but I met so many new great friends it was a little hard to keep up. Thanks for the follow I hope I don’t disappoint,Hugs Nx