Children can get addicted to praise. Praise addiction is real and can be dangerous for your child
Also watch the video posts Can You Praise Your Child Too Much? and Can you give your child too much attention?
Does your child do things only to be praised?
A lot of children get used to being praised for everything they do all the time. They begin to do things only when they know they are going to be praised for their actions. They get addicted to praise.
Children who are addicted to praise are unable to do anything or persist at any task unless they have someone constantly applauding them for their actions.
And while it may be possible to praise a child for everything constantly while he is a little toddler – from the time he steps out into the outside world as a pre-schooler it becomes impossible to do so.
When a child who is used to being praised for everything all the time steps out of the house and into the outside world – he has to function on his own.
It is much easier for a child who is used to recognizing and praising himself for his own successes to fit into the outside world.
It is even better if a child does not require praise and encouragement to recover from minor failures that come his way as he attempts something.
Self-directed free play can build these two qualities in a child. A child who builds a tower of blocks because he wants to build it – is unlikely to require praise to persist at the task for hours until he completes it. He will not require praise to recover from failure when his tower collapses. Because he wants to do it – he will persist until he succeeds and expect praise only when he has achieved what he set out to create. In contrast – a child who is doing something that he is compelled to do will need constant praise to persist because he is doing it for someone else and his actions are not self-motivated.
When a child learns to do something only because it will earn him praise – it can be disastrous for him. Teach your child how to work alone and celebrate his own success without any expectation of praise.
It is good preparation for preschool and life
Read 6 Ways to help your child settle in Pre-school and watch Expert speak Preschool – help your child to enjoy it
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