“I’M SO PROUD OF YOU!” ❤️
She froze.
The compliment was meant to encourage her.
So why did praise suddenly make her want to stop?
For some children with ADHD, praise can sometimes feel like pressure.
Especially when the praise creates an expectation:
“I did well… now I have to do it again.”
“What if I can't next time?”
“Everyone expects me to be this good now.”
What sounds like encouragement to us can sometimes become performance pressure for a child who already worries about making mistakes or disappointing others.
So instead of:
❌ “You're so smart!”
❌ “You're amazing at this!”
❌ “See? You CAN do it!”
Try focusing on the process:
🧠 “I noticed you kept going when it got hard.”
🎯 “You found a way to get started.”
💪 “You tried a different strategy.”
🌱 “You didn't give up after the mistake.”
The difference?
Praise can create a standard to maintain.
Process-focused feedback highlights something the child did, rather than something they now feel they have to be.
And sometimes the best encouragement isn't:
“You're amazing!”
It's:
“I saw how hard you worked on that.”
Because for some ADHD brains…
Praise feels good.
But praise with expectations can feel like pressure. 🧠
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