Author Po Bronson believes that kids today hear too much praise ”” much of it unearned. A couple of years ago, he wrote an article for New York Magazine on the subject, detailing how praise does not, in fact, lead to self-esteem and achievement as many parents seem to believe.
“Children today hear so much praise that they have decoded its real meaning,” he explains to Robert Siegel. “When kids fail and all we do is praise them, there’s a lot of duplicity in that, and kids begin to hear ‘Nothing matters to my parents more than me doing great or me being smart,’ and failure becomes almost a taboo subject.”
Bronson expands on the subject of praise ”” and other child-rearing issues ”” in his new book NurtureShock, which he co-authored with Ashley Merryman.
I caught this one last night coming home from a doctor’s appointment–listen to it all.