Read This To Know Why Acknowledging Children Is The Right Thing To Do

Parental appreciation means the world to almost all of us, and children are no exception. Hence, it is important for parents to acknowledge the child’s achievements and accomplishments to keep them motivated. Earlier, we have discussed how parents can use praise to promote desired behaviour in their children. 

In this article, we will cover:

• How Acknowledgement Differs From Praise
• Ways To Acknowledge Children’s Achievements

How Acknowledgement Differs From Praise

A book by Louise Porter, Young Children’s Behaviour: Practical Approaches for Caregivers and Teachers, mentions three ways in which acknowledgement differs from praise: 

• Acknowledgement pushes children to evaluate the efforts they put in their work whereas praise helps children understand that their work meets the adult standards. 
• Acknowledgement does not judge the work of the children the way praise does. However, the former can be accompanied by parental opinion. 
• Acknowledgement is a private and personal affair whereas praise is public. 

Ways To Acknowledge Children’s Achievements

Another book, Children’s Behaviour: Everyday learning about babies, toddlers and preschoolers, by Louise Porter, lists a few tips for acknowledging children’s achievements: 

• Asking children about their feelings regarding their achievements. 
• Reflecting upon the emotions that the children are experiencing based on their non-verbal behaviour such as being proud and looking elated. 
• Verify and validate the children’s thoughts and feelings that they have achieved something worthwhile. 
• Focus on the process and not on the outcome, like their perseverance or trying something new. 
• Sparingly add your opinion or feedback, when appropriate. Allow children to trust their own judgement on their achievements. 

Acknowledgement and celebration helps children develop healthy self-esteem as it verifies and highlights their successes. It allows them to understand their own skills and qualities. Recognising these opportunities can be difficult at first. Parents can start acknowledging their children for doing things without any help, pushing themselves despite initial troubles, completing a task, helping someone, or for being creative.

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