By the time the average child reaches 18 years of age, he or she has heard 350,000 to 400,000 negative comments.

Good parents learn to be instructive without being negative. They replace “No” with the query,”Is what you are doing right now helping to get what you want.”

Instead of saying, “Your grades tell me you are either lazy or stupid,” say, “You have industry and intelligence that you can use to achieve better grades. Start using those skills to get the grades that will make you feel good about yourself.”

Replace negative and nagging expressions with:
You can do it!

When you start using your talents you can achieve more than you can imagine!

I’m excited about your potential!

Praise good behavior and it will increase.

As we go through life we hear more negative comments. Most people recieve very few encouraging comments and that’s sad because all of us benefit from praise–let’s give more of it.