5 Reasons

In this weeks reading, we read about Kohn's 5 reasons as to why people should stop saying "Good job!" to kids and praising them. One good reason I would like to point out if the second reason he talked about, which was 'Creating Praise Junkies". Obviously, we all want to praise children and reward them for every task they do because it makes them happy and who doesn't like making children happy? But, he makes a great point. Praising children too much will cause them to only rely on our decisions and our opinions, as Kohl says. It takes away from their ability to evaluate their work themselves, and learn from their own judgement. Don't get me wrong, I do think everyone should compliment kids and reward them because it does boost their confidence, but as Kohn says, it should not be done as much as some people do it. It may even go into their adulthood. If they are praised too much as kids, then they may need that same 'pat on the back' as adults in order to be motivated and successful. Attached below is a photo of Alfie Kohn, and you can learn more about him here