How Not to Talk to Your Kids

This is an article on how general praise ("You're smart") can actually demotivate a child and prevent him from trying something at which he may not succeed. It's better to affirm effort, especially specific instances of effort ("You worked really hard on those problems"). It originally appeared in the New Yorker a couple years ago and is republished here at fishfulthinking.com. (Try to get past the corny template.)