Got a buck? You, too, can praise your kid.

December

We chat online, shop online, date online … so why not praise kids online too?

Tappan mom Susan Camus has recently launched PraiseAChild.com, a Web site “designed to give a child the valuable gift of self-esteem” through praise posted online from parents, grandparents, teachers, coaches, etc. Each post costs just under a dollar.

This, of course, begs an obvious question: When is someone starting up PraiseAnEducationReporter.com? Anyone? Mom?

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 6th, 2007 at 9:00 am by Alice Gomstyn.
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6 Responses to “Got a buck? You, too, can praise your kid.”

Robert December 6th, 2007 at 9:36 am
“There is nothing more important than a child’s self esteem” – I wonder how they would react to the research that seems to indicate that there’s no correlation between self esteem and success later in life. There’s such a thing as pumping up your child’s ego a little too much…
Susan December 6th, 2007 at 11:36 am
Robert, it sounds like you didn’t get enough praise as a child. The site is not designed to associate praise with success in later life. The simple goal is to have a child read something positive about themselves and feel proud.
Robert December 6th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
I got far too much praise as a child, actually – I was borderline spoiled and entered college relying far too much on my innate abilities and not enough on hard work. And my parents spent all their time praising how smart I was, and too little time pointing out that I could do better. End result, I almost flunked out of an Ivy League school, suffered a massive blow to my ego and spent a fair amount of time suffering from depression.

Yes, giving your child confidence is good. But it’s also important to balance that out with some realism.
el estudiante December 11th, 2007 at 7:53 pm
Why not just praise the kid in person and give them the dollar in the process?
Susan December 17th, 2007 at 8:26 pm
It’s like a newspaper, it has a little more meaning when other people can see the praise on line.
westchester February 19th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
What a moronic, and actually harmful, idea. I can’t even begin to list all the ways that this website flies in the face of both common sense and the research base on the effects of praise.

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