Children work hard to earn praise from important people in their lives. Attention and credit for being a valuable person helps your child feel secure. Criticism and negative teasing cause young children to feel humiliated and of little worth. This leads to helplessness. On the other hand, honest praise can help children feel strong and able to be more independent.
Praise also comes in words of encouragement and respect.
Praise helps children feel good about themselves and helps them want to continue acting in good ways. Children need to feel able to be good and know that they can try hard. But to work this way, praise needs to be honest. Over used or false praise can cause children to feel anxious about their abilities or afraid to take risks and try new things. Too much praise for ordinary behavior can cause increased dependence on adults.