Is Our Country’s Biggest Problem Really That We Praise Our Kids Too Much?

Saying ‘good job’ on the playground will NOT turn your toddler into Ted Bundy.

Photo by Ryan Sepulveda on Unsplash

Apparently, this country is suffering from a serious problem right now: We’re being far too nice to our children.

Here are some headlines from the last 12 months:

“The problem with praising your kids TOO much” — Psych Central, February 2019

“Why Telling Your Children They Are Smart Could Turn Them Into Cheaters” — Forbes, November, 2018

“When saying ‘Good Job’ is a bad thing” — Montessori Musings, October 2018

“Why I’ll never cheer for my son” — The Week, June 2018

“Stop Praising Kids with ‘Good Job!’ How ineffectively praising kids can hurt more than help” — From a popular kids’ sports blog, May 2018

“Are our children overpraised?” — Child Mind Institute, May 2018

Image by the author.

These follow headlines from a few years earlier such as “Do Parents Nurture Narcissists By Pouring On The Praise?” from NPR, “How over-praised children turn into…