Praising Children in a Way That Helps Them Grow is a clear, visual PDF poster guide designed to help adults use praise more effectively with children. It explains why meaningful praise matters and shows how noticing a child’s effort, behaviour and progress can support self-esteem, resilience, motivation and emotional development.
The poster sets out four practical principles for positive praise: being specific, focusing on effort rather than only results, noticing progress, and linking praise directly to behaviour. Each section includes simple example phrases, such as praising a child for putting toys away without being asked, listening carefully, keeping going with a task, sharing kindly, or using calm words when upset.
This resource also highlights common praise habits to avoid, including overusing vague phrases such as “good job” or “well done”, and praising fixed traits such as “you are so smart” or “you are the best”. It offers more helpful alternatives that name the effort and behaviour, helping children understand exactly what they did well and what they can repeat in future.
The PDF can be used by parents, carers, foster carers, social workers, family support workers, teachers, early years staff and parenting practitioners. It is suitable as a handout in parenting sessions, a visual prompt for home or classroom use, or a discussion tool in direct work with families who are developing positive parenting strategies and behaviour support approaches.
By using the guidance in this poster, adults can make praise more specific, encouraging and growth-focused. The resource supports children to feel seen rather than judged, to keep trying when tasks are difficult, and to recognise their own progress. This printable resource is credited to Edita Stiborova (2026) and SocialWorkersToolbox.com.
