Verbal encouragement is a wonderful way to praise your children for a job well done. It is a way to commemorate good work, encourage repeat behavior through positive reinforcement, and increase intrinsic motivation. The right words can also improve a child’s self-esteem, enhance perseverance, and support their ongoing emotional growth.

We should all be using encouraging words for children, but it is important to do so in the right way. Using them indiscriminately may only serve to be counter-productive.

In this blog post, we will highlight some useful tips for praising your child for their good work and efforts.

Be Specific in Your Praise

It’s important for children to understand what exactly they are being praised for. Rather than just using sweeping words of encouragement, be specific in your praise. This also helps the encouragement to come off as sincere.

Look for specific aspects of the children’s performance. For example, if the child has completed a drawing, take the time to compliment specific aspects of their work. Compliment their ability to draw within the lines, their use of different colors, or their creativity in adding a particular feature.

Praise the Effort, Not the Achievement

Life is about the taking part, not just the winning. So, focus your praise on the effort rather than simply the achievement. Even if your child won their competition or completed the jigsaw, place the focus of your encouragement on their efforts.

Dissecting how the child completed the puzzle (perhaps how they used a particular strategy) is important to recognize. 

Avoid Using Comparison Praise

This may seem like a good idea, especially given that throughout life we are constantly be compared with others (such as in exams and sports). However, this can leave children vulnerable to setbacks in the future.

A child who is praised by comparison will also be susceptible to comparing themselves to others when they fail. This can lead to a loss of motivation. While a child may have gotten the highest result in the most recent class test, it may not be the case next time, so don’t over-dwell on this aspect when praising them.

At Grow With Us Learning Academy, our teachers understand the power of encouraging words at an early age. We believe in being positive, reassuring, and enthusiastic, helping children to be motivated to always try their best and exhibit their creativity in every way.

The Power of Encouraging Words for Children

As we move through life, we learn time and time the power of words. For children, words can have a huge impact on their emotional growth.

The above tips on using encouraging words for children are all designed to help you find the most appropriate words for your children in each situation. 

Contact our Academy today to learn more about how we can give your children the very best start in life.