ondon parents must teach their children it is okay to be ordinary and refrain from over-praising them, a family expert said today.
Katharine Hill, head of the charity Care for the Family, said many parents are so anxious not to damage their children’s confidence that they imply they are geniuses when they are not, which can put them under pressure to be “extraordinary”.
In a new book about parenting in a post-pandemic world, Mrs Hill said a generation of young people has been led to believe they can be or do anything, and will become depressed and anxious when they realise they cannot.
Parents tempted to overpraise their children during the pandemic to boost their mental health could be doing more harm than good, she warned, because children could end up believing their worth lies solely in what they achieve.
She said: “The belief that ‘I have to be extraordinary’ is a major driver of anxiety and one of the main factors affecting children’s well-being.”
Mrs Hill said TV talent shows, TikTok videos and Instagram reels turn the ordinary into the extraordinary…
