Praise and encouragement are two different forms of feedback, and both have unique effects on individuals. Praise is typically given to someone after completing a task or achieving a goal. It focuses on the outcome and is usually given as a compliment or recognition. On the other hand, encouragement is given to someone to motivate them to keep trying, even if they haven’t yet succeeded. It focuses on the effort and is usually provided as support or guidance. While praise can be a great way to boost someone’s confidence and self-esteem, encouragement can be more beneficial in the long run as it helps individuals build resilience, perseverance, and a growth mindset.

Praise

• Praise is an expression of approval or admiration for someone or something. It will be based on what you think of them, not who they are. This is because praise is performance-based.

• How can we evaluate if we’re praising (and not encouraging) a child? Ask yourself if your compliments are evaluative or judgmental. That means that the compliment comes from a result that can be measured, such as making first place or scoring the most points. Compliments that count as praise are considered judgmental if given out of conditions.

• The results that come from praise might immediately feel good to the child when they receive it. However, the long-term effects jeopardize the child’s ability to develop their internal compass. We may be using praise to manipulate our child’s behavior without even realizing it. They will learn to behave in certain conditions, and we will hinder their ability to learn self-reliance, self-direction, and self-control.

Encouragement

• Encouragement is the act of giving support, confidence, and hope. When a child believes they have to perform and fail, they lose confidence. Encouragement offers the opposite, where the child can learn to believe in themselves and not evaluate their worth based on whether they succeed or fail.

• You can encourage your child by giving positive feedback. You’ll also want to be non-judgmental when speaking to your child. Showing respect to your child inspires confidence early on. Another critical difference between praise and encouragement is that it is given at any time and sometimes for no reason. It’s freely given as a way to build your child up.

• Encouragement can give your child an inner direction that allows them to become self-motivated, faithful to themselves, and focused on following their interests. Instead of fear of trying new things, they will be confident to pursue and learn.