Did you know that your child needs to hear only two things: encouragement and praise?

You can use encouragement and praise to support your children and to speak in a way that resonates with them and is exactly what they need to hear in the moment.

Encouragement is giving someone support, building up their confidence, inspiring courage and hope  Encouragement is joyful.

Encouragement is like a cheerleader cheering you on and pepping you up. 

It sounds like:
“You are awesome!”                           
“You’re the best!”
“You are so good at that.” 
“How amazing you are!”

Encouragement celebrates effort and inspires your children to keep going.  It isn’t specific, going into great detail as to why or what they did well, just “Great job.  You are good at that.”

Praise is specific and speaks to the character or behavior of your child.  Praise is warm approval or genuine admiration for someone. Giving praise is commending someone for their outstanding achievement.

It’s like a standing ovation at the end of a symphony or a ballet of the Nutcracker or Sleeping Beauty.  It is approval of a most excellently done performance with genuine admiration for the skill and talent of the performers.

Aren’t Praise and Encouragement the Same?

I understand that the terms encouragement and praise can be used interchangeably, or you might have even heard them explained in different ways than what I just did.

Let’s not get hung up on the difference between the two. Instead, let’s focus on how to incorporate both encouragement and praise to support your children and to speak in a way that resonates with them and is exactly what they need to hear in the moment.

Because at the end of the day, your children don’t care about the definitions between the two words.  They just want to know that you mean what you say and that you support them and unconditionally love them.

In this podcast episode, I’ll give you exact words or scripts you can say to your child using both praise and encouragement. We’ll relate these to the different personalities your children may have. We’ll talk about not giving up, sharing, cleaning up, focus, independence, making right choices, school work challenges, patience, lending a helping hand, working with excellence, and being creative. Grab a paper and a pencil and take notes.

Now It’s Your Turn, Mama

Share in the comments below how these scripts and suggestions helped you. Record a testimony or a question by sending a voice message using the recording feature found one the main page of speaklifebadges.com.  I’d love to hear from you.

Mama, you know that I am here for you.  If you have any questions or need another mama to talk to for help encouraging and praising your child, go to Renewed Mama Coaching and book your first coaching session now.  Sometimes, all you need is someone else to talk to and a small tweak here or there of your mindset, expectations, and habits to unlock a renewed way of doing things for you. 

I bless you as you choose to speak life and truth using both encouragement and praise when speaking to yourself, your children, and your spouse. Go get them with your words of life!