Most of us understand the importance of praising our children, yet many of us are unsure of how to praise them properly. Let’s figure out the greatest method to compliment our kids. This is true not only for children, but also for adults.
Before we begin, it’s important to define praise. Praise is just a technique of letting our children know that we like specific behaviours and using phrases like “well done,” “excellent work,” and other similar phrases to make them feel better. Praise is a short-term strategy for achieving a long-term goal. The long-term effect is a permanent shift in behaviour in our children that we want to see.
Praise is referred to as a short-term technique since we will praise a behaviour until it becomes natural to our children. You cease praising your child for what you regard as natural conduct. We don’t want to go too far. While praising our children, we want to make sure that we are using some crucial parts of praise.
1. Give positive feedback with energy and enthusiasm.
When we praise with a bland tone of voice that lacks passion and enthusiasm, it is ineffective. When we praise our children, we must do so with a little excitement, enthusiasm and vigour.
2. The Impact of Delayed Praise
This implies that if your child does something positive, such as putting his toys back on the shelf, you should praise him right away. Do not wait till the evening to celebrate this act.
3. Incorporate a large number of non-verbal elements
Nonverbal elements such as a hi-fi, a tap on the shoulder, a peck on the cheeks, and so on can be used. This will cause your youngster to feel happy, and they will be more likely to repeat the activity.
4. Recognize small changes in behaviour.
When you begin to praise your child, don’t wait for the behaviour to entirely alter. Instead, pay attention to little changes in behaviour and then begin to compliment them. For example, you want your youngster to be able to colour more accurately. Don’t wait for your child to complete a beautiful painting before praising him or her. You should start noticing subtle changes in the colour on a daily basis and tell your child about it. You may remark anything along the lines of “Wow!” I admire how you improve your colouring skills every day.”
5. Positive vs. Negative Praise
Bad praise concentrates on your child’s characteristics, resulting in a fixed mindset and a “I am” attitude. You are fantastic, you are the best, you are always a winner, you are the prettiest girl in the world, and so on are examples of negative praise. You don’t want to tell your child these things since it will make it more difficult for them to adjust to new settings and environments. They have a hard time accepting that they are not the sharpest person in the room, and they are also bad at dealing with failures.
Instead of focusing on who your child is, good praise focuses on what he or she does. It emphasises the process and effort rather than the outcome. For example, “I love how you’re experimenting with different colours,” “I love how you’re trying to tidy your home,” “I adore how you’re handling this challenge,” and so on. Notice how all of these positive affirmations include an action word and are focused on the effort rather than your child’s personality or the perfect outcome.
Positive reinforcement encourages a growth mindset. Children that have a growth mentality are willing to experiment, try new things, and work harder to improve their grades. They are more adaptive, versatile, and open to learning from others. They recognise that by putting up effort and experimenting with different ways, they may turn their mistakes into successes. We all want our children to have a development mentality because it allows them to adapt to new situations.
6. Genuine praise is required.
False praise must be avoided at all costs. If we don’t observe any improvement or change in their behaviour, we shouldn’t applaud them. This will send the wrong message to them, and they will refuse to make any efforts to improve.
I’ve gone over the essential elements of praise with you. It is critical that we praise our children, but it is even more critical that we do so correctly, because praise has a significant impact on their general personality and mindset.
Let us make a commitment to praise our children and to praise them rightly each time we do so.