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

By: westchester

westchester — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 19:28:32 +0000

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.

By: Susan

Susan — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 01:26:06 +0000

It’s like a newspaper, it has a little more meaning when other people can see the praise on line.

By: el estudiante

el estudiante — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 00:53:31 +0000

Why not just praise the kid in person and give them the dollar in the process?

By: Robert

Robert — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 17:52:31 +0000

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.

By: Susan

Susan — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 16:36:55 +0000

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.

By: Robert

Robert — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 14:36:37 +0000

“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…