In fact, from my own personal experience as a child, uncoupled praise carried substantially more meaning than action-specific praise. I can also see a difference in the reaction of my children when I praise their character without it being preceded by a specific desired action. It’s possible that this is personality-dependent, but at a minimum, no harm is done by providing additional general praise.

The key takeaway is that we should make sure our kids know we’re proud of them. I firmly believe that a mix of action-specific and general praise is best for children, but any amount of praise is better than no praise. Let’s make our kids should feel loved and supported — let them know that we’re their “number 1 fan.”