Kids Get Too Much Praise Research Paper

Improved Essays
Do you want your kids to succeed in life? Well of course, everybody does. There is a debate out there right now concerning how kids should be treated in regards to rewards and praise. Many parents think that giving a child as much praise as they can is the best idea possible. They believe that helping them improve their self esteem by giving them extreme positive affirmation is beneficial. However, many people argue that adolescents need less praise in order to help them understand life a little better. If kids receive too much of this, they may not be exposed to reality enough. This problem might cause some set backs. Setbacks for children and adults. Children receive too many trophies, if this habit continues, they'll grow up not valuing work habits and neglecting the fact that life isn't always fair. Even though giving kids constant praise seems like a good idea, it can actually lead to them not valuing work habits and …show more content…
One of these motives is that they will neglect the reality that life isn't fair. According to an article by Tanya Byron “Endless praise, Professor Dweck argues, disables children from recognising the importance of error or failure as part of the process of learning. These children become heavily reliant on the endless positive validation of others (Byron).” This is showing that kids aren't recognizing reality. Children need to understand that not everything in life will work out perfectly. When they're bothered with inflated praise, the kids will not learn what it's like to fail. Failure is essential in life, that's how people learn. Adolescents need to receive negative feedback. If not, they'll risk becoming emotionally fragile children who cannot seem to bear to make mistakes. Kids should know when they have either won, almost won, or lost. Parents and adults need to use praise

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    What would our lives be like if we got a trophies for doing what we are required to do? People should not get rewarded for doing what they are suppose to do. In addition if we are going to be giving out trophies we should make them mean something. Secondly everything in life should be earned, sometimes your best is not good enough, and that should drive you to want to do better. Some sport organizations have a "Trophies for all" policy.…

    • 549 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Today, children accumulate trophies for almost everything such as sports, school activities, competitions, and events. Many parents wonder if their kids should receive trophies for just participating in activities. Is it healthy or destructive for kids to receive them if they do not work for them. Studies show that always rewarding kids can cause them to lose motivation, and cause them to fall easier. We should stop handing out trophies to the kids that just participate because losing can teach children life lessons, hopefully lead to good sportsmanship, and help them overcome obstacles.…

    • 828 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    According to a web article in Forbes Magazine by Don Yaeger, an award winning keynote speaker and a New York Times Best-selling author, wrote that “Why would a child attempt to improve when he or she is treated the same as the kid on the sidelines chasing butterflies?” When a child has put in effort and earned a trophy and another child has done nothing, but is given the same trophy it shows how the kid does not have to really do work in order to receive an award.…

    • 802 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Life is hard and competitive and not everyone gets an award. The people who get awards deserve them and have to work for that kind of recognition. Merryman makes a valid statement that kids need to realize at a young age that when they make mistakes, they need to move on; this way, when they are older, they understand not everyone is going to get a trophy (Wallace). Merryman makes a valid statement, “why bother learning problem-solving skills, when there are never obstacles to begin with?” Life isn’t about being fair and making sure everyone’s…

    • 2036 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Sometimes you win, and sometimes you learn” - Robert T. Kiyosaki. Life is not always about winning, and as we grow up we teach ourselves that, and we learn that. But what if certain things in life are teaching kids otherwise? The articles “You Don’t Get Participation Awards For Showing Up At Work” by Don Yaeger and “Participation Trophies Aren’t What's Wrong With Kids These Days” by Bob Cook, argued whether or not the youth should be given trophies for participating in activities.…

    • 739 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Ashley Friedman October 25th, 2014 Tough Book Review “Powerful, clear-eyed, beautifully written…How Children Succeed will change the way you think about children, “ states Alex Kotlowitz. How Children Succeed has a plan on how to succeed and how to build grit. Paul Tough, the author of How Children Succeed, is not only a journalist, but a new parent as well. He starts off by explaining to his readers that in the summer of 2009, he made a visit to a prekindergarten classroom a couple of weeks after his son, Ellington, was born. He says that he paid a visit “not to scope out the class as a new parent but to try to understand it as a journalist” (Tough, 2013, xi).…

    • 2260 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Extrinsic Rewards Undermining Altruistic Tendencies in 20-Month Olds This is an experimental study about how the influence of rewards can affect how a child with a certain task. Children were randomly selected to one of three conditions in either the treatment phase or the test phase. The three conditions consist of: material reward, praise, and neutral reward. (Warneken & Tomasello, 2008)…

    • 632 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    While it may be true that giving out trophies to kids who aren’t good at sports motivates them to keep coming back and try harder, constructive criticism is more effective. In the article, “ Losing Is Good for You,” Ashley Merryman states, “ By age 4 or 5, children aren’t fooled by all the trophies. They are surprisingly accurate in identifying who excels and who struggles. Those who are outperformed know it and give up, while those who do well feel cheated when they aren’t recognized for their accomplishments. They, too, may give up.”…

    • 841 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Self-esteem boosters or motivation killers? Kids should not be given a participation awards because in giving a kid an award just for participating they won’t learn the importance of trying their hardest and try to be the best. Although others (particularly parents) may argue that it is a good thing to give every kid a trophy, because if you don’t some kids may feel left out or not appreciated. There are many positive effects that giving out participation awards give to children. But, there are just as many if not more negative effects to it as well and giving out these awards can affect the kind of person the child will become as they grow older.…

    • 810 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Participation Backwards

    • 804 Words
    • 4 Pages

    One feels that they do not have to work as hard as everyone else to receive credit. Ashley Merryman says “Po Bronson and I have spent years reporting on the effects of praise and rewards on kids. The science is clear. Awards might be powerful motivators, but nonstop recognition does not inspire children to succeed. Instead, it can cause them to underachieve”…

    • 804 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I agree with the author. Schools and parents should help students to understand that they have to work hard to deserve getting rewards. Giving children regular reward is not motivating them because children will understand that they do not have to work hard anymore. Ashely Merryman said that children will not worry about improving themselves anymore because they know that their schools will naturally give them all rewards. That is true.…

    • 726 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Why Trophies Are Not Good

    • 813 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Even though some believe trophies are not good, they give a boost of confidence while keeping children happy and also keeping them encouraged…

    • 813 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Praise For Research Paper

    • 582 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Providing recognition to someone for a job well done can be easily forgotten. By giving a pat on the back or a praise, you can uplift another person and encourage yourself to adopt a more positive outlook on life. So let's praise generously when deserved and enjoying the impact it has on you and the people around you. Praising Others Improves Your Life Accentuate the positive. Paying attention to the good qualities and accomplishments of the people around you gives you more opportunities to give praise.…

    • 582 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Since affirmation gives positive messages about expectations and see a person as an individual who has needs and rights. I do think the use of praise or encouragement does help to motivate children to anything their little hearts would like to…

    • 121 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Great Essays

    Roy Baumeister, a professor of psychology at Florida State University, believes that “when [parents] praise their kids, it’s not that far from praising themselves” (Bronson and Merryman 19). After all, parents did raise their children so them praising their child is, in effect, praising how they raised their child. This is an interesting explanation as to why parents…

    • 2213 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Great Essays

Related Topics