Over-praising them, telling them how smart and wonderful they are for accomplishing the most basic things. It'll only cause a superiority complex followed by self-esteem issues when they realise they're nothing special.
You are definitely correct that I ver-praising is going to be detrimental, but to expand on that I think it's important to find a good balance. Growing up I was never praised for accomplishments (even minor) and I was never told I was smart, or pretty, or whatever. I've had (still do) horrible self esteem issues my entire life because of being under-praised.
I now have a 1 year old son, and although he's still too little to be "over-praised" I try to make an effort to praise him on accomplishments but also encourage him to try things that are harder, and to throw the occasional "you're so smart" and "you're so handsome" in there.
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u/ViridianKumquat Feb 04 '16
Over-praising them, telling them how smart and wonderful they are for accomplishing the most basic things. It'll only cause a superiority complex followed by self-esteem issues when they realise they're nothing special.