I really enjoyed this article on giving compliments on this nice site I just found called Eensies. In the article the authors talk about the importance of giving compliments and the different types of compliments; some of which are more effective than others. I have pasted the article below:

We all try OUR best to focus on positive reinforcement and giving our kiddos compliments that will make them feel confident and validate their efforts. However, it’s quite easy to forget to teach them the art of complimenting. We do want them passing on the love to siblings, friends and you!

At school we make lists of compliments- a.k.a. “put-ups” in kid language. We discuss ones that are heartfelt, “You are a good friend because you listen to me.” Ones that are nice, but don’t really boost someone up such as, “I like your shoes.” And ones that compliment a specific skill, “You are good at reading because you use characters’ voices.”

It takes some time, lots of practice and the opportunity to discuss how it makes them feel to give and receive put-ups. But, little by little, I start to “catch” the kids spreading words of kindness. Of course, we discuss the opposite, the put-downs, and what they sound and feel like. But, I try to accentuate the positive in an effort to eliminate the negative. Why not give it a try at home?

This is something we could try to focus on in our weekly class meetings. We always start our class meeting with greetings where the students learn to look others in the eyes and shake hands properly. We then go on to thanking the people in our class for the good things they did. These tips would certainly fit in when we talk about why we are thanking the other classmates for what they did that was nice. It would also make a nice lesson on how to treat friends and encourage others.

Here is a nice video talking about raising people up, which is what we can do when we try to compliment and not hurt people. I’m not always a Josh Groban fan but I really like the African Children’s Choir.