Five Reasons to Stop Saying "Good Job!"

We haven't discussed this article in class, and I'm not sure if we are going to because it is not on the syllabus, but it was on D2L and I thought I would read it because it sounded interesting.  I have to say, as I was reading it, I found it very... rough, for lack of a better word.  I'm not sure how to explain how this article came across but I didn't like it at first.  It talks about how when parents, or anyone, tells a child "good job", they are only saying that for their own convenience, not for the child's emotional needs.  I personally think this statement is just plain stupid.  They start off by saying that the words "good job", manipulate a child, create a praise junkie, steal's a child's pleasure, makes a child lose interest in what they are commended for, and reduces a child's achievement.  There are some minor truths within these, but I feel like they exaggerate these issues to an absurd extent at first.  As they go on to explain there are better things that could be said to children, I did see valid points and arguments to their statements then.  You don't always want to praise a child for every single one of their accomplishments because then they will always expect it.  Also, a simple evaluation-free statement can be better because you still are acknowledging them, but it lets them take on the pride in what they did.  The last thing the article says is a more useful way to express positive reinforcement to a child is asking more than talking.  Questions are even better then descriptions.  If you ask the child their favorite part about what they did or accomplished, it shows that their opinion matters.  I liked the way they ended the article, saying that not all compliments, thank-you's and expressions of delight are bad, but we just need to know how to better express them.  I felt the last sentence is a very good in closing when it says, "you don't have to evaluate in order to encourage".