On One Foot—What You Need to Know About Praise

Let me briefly remind you of what is important to know about praise:

As we said, a child should always receive love, without any conditions at all, simply because they are our child—they are entitled to it. Our feeling of love should not depend on the child’s behavior—it comes first. Whatever a child has done, before addressing them, we must remember that we are speaking to someone we love.

Praise, by contrast, is tied to the child’s actions and depends directly on their achievements. It is meant to reinforce their good deeds and lead them toward ever greater success.

Love is present and enveloping, while praise has a specific goal and helps the child move toward it.

We said that the word idud— praise, support—is similar to the word od—“more”—a child will want to be praised again and will repeat the good deed.

It is also similar to the word adi—an ornament—because the purpose of praise is to bring out and emphasize a child’s good qualities.

Furthermore, idud has a root similar to that of the word ed, witness. If a child is unsure of their abilities, we can point to their past achievements in that area, and these will serve as witnesses that they are capable of repeating or even improving on their result.

Prepared by Mrs. Zissi Skarzhinskaya