Applauding Accomplishments

Nolan, 3

Whenever any of my children or grandchildren accomplish a goal, and they put forth the effort to accomplish that goal, no matter how small it is, I applaud them.

"You pooped in the potty? YAY!"

"You folded your socks all by yourself? YAY!"

"You cleaned up your mess all by yourself? GREAT JOB!"

And the list goes on.

I'll admit I went a little overboard with my oldest daughter. I think, because I was never applauded for any of my accomplishments growing up (perhaps I had none), I wanted my children and grandchildren to feel good about whatever they did, so I applauded (and still applaud) their every accomplishment.

You may not be surprised to learn that I recently applauded my three-year-old grandson, Nolan, when he said, "I can spell DVD now." YAY!