The child is not used to being frustrated or trying new tasks solo. Encouragement is a parenting tool that rewards a child's little efforts rather than their end results. It has been said that children misbehave because they are discouraged about their place in the family and their value to their parents. When children question this fundamental source of identity, they act in ways that quickly re-establishes their feeling of belonging, even if it means belonging as the family troublemaker. Encouragement provides discouraged children with the steps necessary to lift themselves out of their feelings of hopelessness and despair.
Most parents confuse encouragement with praise.
But encouragement is different from praise. While this type of praise appears beneficial, it can actually be harmful. Young children have a pre-operational or concrete view of the world. What this means is that they do not completely understand how the world operates, they confuse fantasy with reality, and take what parents say, literally. Consequently, children will compare themselves to other children to determine who is the biggest, smartest, fastest, funniest, etc.