Twenty-five years ago, as a parent educator, I began reading about the dangers of praise. I was completely shocked by what I was learning: praise is not good for kids. How could that be? So I spent years talking with experts, reading about the effects of praise, and finally decided to close the door on praise and focus on building an encouraging family. Even today, with many studies available to parents, I still hear people say, “How can that be? How can saying ‘Good job’ or ‘You’re smart’ be bad?” I understand. It can be a difficult habit to break. If we tel