Good job Lovegirl!

I am always telling Lovegirl what a great job she’s done – putting on her shoes, wiping the table, finishing her meal, etc.

A while back, I read an article that said the the children we’re currently raising – and those a decade before them – will be so used to being praised for everything, that they will encounter real heartache/heartbreak when they finally venture into the real world.  That we parents, by currently praising them in an almost nonstop manner, are setting them up for unrealistic expectations when it comes to real kudos.

On the one hand, I want to be Lovegirl’s biggest encourager, her biggest fan (when she’s doing right, of course) but I also thought that there was a grain of truth in the article – she won’t be able to step outside and take a breath without expecting someone to say “great job!” Even now, if she does something and I say “okay,” instead of offering praise as usual, she will tell me “Mama, you need to say good job Lovegirl!”

I can’t remember where I read the article, otherwise I’d post a link to it.  If anyone’s interested in weighing in on this, I’d love to hear your opinion.  Praise – when it comes to children is there ever such a thing as “too much?”