Although we tend to think of praise as beneficial to kids, recent research has shown that certain kinds of praise are actually detrimental to young people. When we tell kids they’re “good” the unintended effects are that children begin to fear being seen as “bad”.
Personally, I think all kids are good all the time. They’re just easier or more difficult for us to deal with based on their behavior, but that doesn’t make them “bad”, just more challenging for us. But if we tell kids they’re good or talented or smart, the surprising consequence is that they tend to freeze up and become afraid of being seen as bad or un-talented or stupid.
Reading to your kids is a crucially important part of your job as a parent. And sometimes story time can begin to fall through the cracks of our busy lives. So this week, I’m writing about the many reasons story time is such an important part of parenting. I’m hoping to re-inspire you to commit to a daily story time for your kids whether they’re one-year-old, six, or twelve.