Monday, April 6, 2009

The Power of Praise



I learned a valuable lesson last week. The Power of Praise. Every Monday we have a family night. We sing songs, have a lesson, and play games. Recently I have added a family goal and have started giving out awards for anything positive that I have seen my children or my husband do that week. The awards can range from anything from being the best helper or getting the best grades in school. They really are just little things that I have noticed that they have done that week. Anyway it is amazing what a little praise will do. This past week I went to Walmart. I bought my son a package of M&Ms because he was being good. As we got into the car he was having difficutly opening the package so I helped him and asked if I could take a few. He said yes, but don't take to many. "I want to share the rest of them with my sisters. I want to get "the best sharer award" this week. Do you think I can get the sharer award MOM"?. WOW! If I had know that giving a little praise each week would have this much effect I would have never stopped. Wouldn't we all like to have our children ask ask for this award. I did this several years ago when I only had 2 kids, but stopped shortly after my 2nd arrived. A little encouragement and praise can really go a long way. I think in our busy day to day run around we tend to focus on what is going wrong and needs to be done instead of what is going right and the good things that have been done. One week I gave my husband the best provider award. Things had been tough at work that week and I just wanted him to know that I really appreicated him. I think it really made him feel good. I was showing my appreciation for him and all his efforts he was making for our family. I don't think we tell each other enough how much we appreciate one another. I really think just a little more praise in our families will build a lot more love and appreciation. Try it. You will see a difference

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