Film, Media & TV2 mins ago
Smothering Love
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For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.I don't think you are smothering him BigDogsWang - I have 3 yr and 15 month old daughters and we do the same - always using positive reinforcement and telling them we love them and they are great at everything. I really belive that to create a confident and self assured child is the key to a good transition into adulthood. Don't get me wrong, we stick to our guns if we feel they are pushing boundries, but you can only do that if your child feels loved and knows that you will always love them. By nuturing that relationship you will create a situation where your son can talk to you about everything. I say 'go for it'
Just one word of warning -regarding my stepchild who is a 22year old girl (i have only known her for 7 years)
As achild, she was born with no skin and so her mother (my wife) could not hug her like a normal baby. She went quite over the top (understanably) and called her precious, wonderful, a princess etc as she could not hug her for reassurance as would be normal with a child.
Since I have known her, I am afraid she is awful. She beleives that the world revolves around her and is very precocious. She is to be frank not a nice young lady.
My wife does feel responsible (don't all parent's for their kids failings?) but I am unsure (as I wasn't there). Point is, it MAY have been too much positive reinforcement that actually caused her to belive that she is the centre of the universe.
I think it's great that you give your son so much praise. I would say that it can't hurt him as long as you are honest, and not falsely praising him.
I grew up with parents who praised me all the time - but sometimes their praise contradicted what I knew to be true (i.e., I'm not perfect, though sometimes they would tell me I was). Result - their praise didn't feel authentic, and I didn't know when I could trust it.
Is he really good at everything? He probably knows he isn't, so maybe instead of saying something so general, you could praise him for specific things that he's good at.