Explain the characteristics and consequences of praise and encouragement. Provide an example of each

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Praise is the use of short, general statements that evaluate the worth of a child's actions or behavior. It focuses on the product of a child's efforts and what the adult thinks of the child's efforts, but does not provide specific information on what the he or she has done (e.g., "Good work!" "That's beautiful."). Praise can also be used to comment on the worth of a child (e.g., "You're such a nice girl.") and is sometimes used to manipulate or compare children (e.g., "I see Jonah is the only one sitting nicely."). There are several negative long-term consequences of praise.
a. Children learn to rely on adults to evaluate their behavior and begin to seek adult approval.
b. Children may feel inadequate if they do not receive enough praise.
c. Children may become resentful of teachers or other children.
d. Children lose the ability to evaluate their strengths and progress realistically.
e. Children begin to lose intrinsic joy and delight in their own work.

Encouragement, on the other hand, provides the child with specific and nonjudgmental information on what they are doing. It focuses on the process and effort children undertake, not what a child produces. Finally, encouragement takes place in private, not as a public display of acknowledgment. Encouragement results in:
a. children learning to specifically and realistically evaluate their work;
b. children building self-direction and inner control;
c. children comparing their efforts to what they did in the past, rather than to their peers.

Some examples of encouragement statements are: "You really worked hard cleaning up the block area. All the blocks are put back where they belong." "You wrote the names of all your friends, I remember when you only could write your own name." "I see a smile on your face. It seems like you are very happy about the picture you made." "That is the first time you went to the toilet all by yourself."