Little Praises That Go a Long Way

Little Praises That Go a Long Way

My son’s first Taekwondo sparring experience inspired me to write this entry. Last Thursday, we (myself, husband and daughter) accompanied our son to his taewkondo lesson as usual. You may be thinking, accompany the boy? Yes, we sit there watch him train for a good 1 hour and a half. This is a way of how we support him in his interest and  it encourages him to go for what he loves. 

Just after the warming up session, the instructor instructed several kids to put on all the required gear for sparring. Then suddenly, she pointed at my son asking him to get ready as well. I was shocked and worried, my son had just attended four lessons to date. But off course, I cannot show whatever I am feeling inside on my face, as it will only scare my son. So I stood there, acted cool and gave my thumbs up to show my son that I know he can do it. Thank god he was cool too and went up, did what he needed to do and made us proud. Right after the lesson, we took him out for a drink. We discussed about his sparring, giving specifics on how well he did at certain points. I told him “Given that you’ve only attended four lessons, you did very well just now, you even knocked your opponent down.”

He is happy with his achievement that night and it has certainly pushed his confidence further up.

The little praises we give to children matter a lot. Praises serve as an affirmation of children’s ability or strength in some given skills. It informs children that we adults know that they are good. Just as how we adults crave for acknowledgement at work or from our partners, the same goes for children. It is even more important for children to hear praises because they are in the crucial stage of development. Effective praise is associated to confidence, self-esteem and feeling secure. It is also a way of encouraging children to explore their surrounding and gain more skills. 

Spend some time and observe your children, find moments that you can effectively praise them for you do not want to praise too often that it falls on deaf ears. Stay tuned, I will update this blog with another entry on how parents can effectively praise their lil’ ones. 

Have fun with your lil’ ones and say those magical words! :)