Seven children of a similar age teamed up with their mothers and played games.
When a child was blindfolded and threw balls, his mother standing at a certain spot got the balls in a large basket. With the same time and conditions, five teams had more than twelve balls in the basket, whereas the other two teams had only seven balls.
This was an experiment done at a broadcasting station. After the game, they watched the video of the mothers and their children exchanging balls. The difference between the teams that put fewer balls in the basket and those with more balls was what the mothers said.
While the mothers of the teams with fewer balls said negative words such as “No, no,” “Don’t do that,” and “You can’t make it at all,” the mothers of the teams that put more balls gave unstinted praise and en-couragement to their children during the game, such as, “Okay,” “Good job,” and “It’s okay.”
Moms’ positive words brought good results; they gave children courage and confidence that they could do, and they could actually make more goals.
Giving positive words generously is a very simple but effective way to support and cheer someone.