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Groundbreaking research on self-esteem
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Important excerpts from an article on self-esteem:
“People think that self-esteem is the most important thing in the world, that you can give it to children, almost on a silver platter, by shielding them from criticism and praising their skills and talents. It’s a very common and harmful belief. In the old days, the parents would be driving kids home from Little League saying, ‘When you struck out, you didn’t keep your eye on the ball.’ Now they say, ‘The ref robbed you.’ The parents think they’re helping them, protecting them from injury. In fact, they’re making them so vulnerable that they’re not resilient.”
--- Carol Dweck, PhD, professor of psychology at Stanford University
Dweck’s studies clearly show that when children are told they’re brilliant, they often start thinking of effort as a sign of stupidity. Then as soon as they hit challenging schoolwork, they panic, and many of them quit because working hard is too threatening. “What’s really effective is praising the process that the child is engaging in,” Dweck explains. “Effort, strategy, perseverance, improvement—these things tell them what to do next time.”
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Autism
