Is Labelling Your Child ‘Smart’ Really Doing Him/her Any Good?

 “Oh, she isn’t particularly bright” or maybe “he is a bit on the duller side”: All of you would agree that such negative labels are really bad for kids, and we should thus refrain from using them. But, what about calling them ‘smart’ or ‘gifted’? Are you sure calling your kids smart each time they do something right is really doing them any good? People naturally assume that there can be no harm done in the use of terms like that. But we, at DPS Sushant Lok, have a different point of view in this context.

At DPSSL, positioned among the Top Schools in Gurgaon, we have had the chance to take a closer look at the impact of such labels on the students, and it has made us come to a few definitive conclusions. The thing about using labels for kids, be it ‘smart’ or otherwise, is that they start believing in the tag a bit too much. Ms Veena Sangar, our esteemed principal, opines that when we begin labelling kids from a young age, they start thinking about themselves as nothing more or less than the label they are given. And, this can truly do them more harm than any good, even when the tag you’re using is something as nice as ‘smart.’

On that note, let’s delve deeper into the topic today and have a clearer understanding of how labeling children as smart or gifted isn’t a good thing.

The constant pressure of living up to the given label

We believe that the biggest problem with labels is that they create a constant pressure of living up to that reputation on those young shoulders. When labels like ‘smart’ become our only way of praising children, somewhere, it creates the wrong impression in their minds that they would only be loved or accepted if they are consistently proving their smartness. Carrying this fear of losing admiration keeps them away from the important lessons taught by failures.

Issues of self-esteem arising from the slightest faults

Even the smartest people make mistakes, right? But, it’s hard explaining that to a five-year-old who has always heard that label and is now finding it difficult to learn a particular poem. Research suggests that self-esteem issues creep up more readily in children who have been labelled smart all through their life. Even faltering a little from that pedestal makes them start questioning their abilities.

Read More : https://dpssl.net/blog/2020/11/28/is-labelling-your-child-smart-really-doing-him-her-any-good/


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