At our recent parent coffee, we discussed the important findings in the 2009 book by Bronson and Merryman entitled “NurtureShock.”\u00a0 Our focus was on the first chapter where we discussed the new research on praise and what, at least in North America, has been a trend to utilize indiscriminate praise to bolster self-esteem since the beginning of the 1970’s.\u00a0 Flawed research at that time supported the notion that we should support self-esteem at all costs to ensure achievement later in life.\u00a0 In essence, there was a belief that children at a formative age should be spared the self-concept damage of criticism.\u00a0 Recent research has shown us that this is an unfortunate conclusion that was based on inaccurate and even misleading research of the time.\u00a0 We know today with more recent longitudinal research and brain studies that not all praise is equal and that praise which lacks the quality of feedback is potentially undermining persistence and determination later in life.\u00a0 In fact, the strategies employed by parent between 1980 and 2010 maybe the root cause of an increasingly disenfranchised adolescent population.\u00a0 Culturally, this damage may be limited to North America, but our discussion at the coffee today found some evidence that it may also be an issue for other cultures as well.<\/p>\n
The slides from our discussion are included below for your reference and reflection:<\/p>\n