How Not to Talk to Your Kids

New York Magazine by Po Bronson | Feb. 19, 2007 (Special Report)

The Inverse Power of Praise.

When parents praise their children's intelligence, they believe they are providing the solution to this problem. According to a survey conducted by Columbia University, 85 percent of American parents think it's important to tell their kids that they're smart. In and around the New York area, according to my own (admittedly nonscientific) poll, the number is more like 100 percent. Everyone does it, habitually. The constant praise is meant to be an angel on ... Full Story »

Posted by Kaizar Campwala

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4.4

by Matt Rollefson - Oct. 1, 2008

The author cites her sources and makes clear arguments. The discussion is interesting, and the author brings the story home by showing how her research affected her own parenting behavior. There's certainly room for more science in this area, but the studies cited were very interesting. It's perhaps worth noting that the researcher who reviewed those 15,000 papers was predisposed to the *opposite* conclusion from the article, but threw out most of the papers because they used bad methodology. What he was left with lead him to the conclusion of the article, which was contrary to his previous beliefs.