What labor brings me

It took place in a teacher’s family. One day, Ben was playing basketball in the living room after school, when he threw the ball at a vase（花瓶）—his mother’s favourite possession. To cover his terrible action, the terrified boy glued（用胶水粘）the pieces together and put the vase back to its place.

The mother noticed the cracks（裂纹）that evening. To her surprise, the repair work was actually very good. At dinner time, she asked her boy if he broke the vase. Fearing punishment, the suddenly inspired boy said that a neighbour’s cat jumped in from the window and he couldn't drive it away. It raced around the living room and finally knocked the vase off its shelf. His mother was quite clear that her son was lying, for all the windows were closed before she left for work each morning and opened after she returned. However, Ben’s mother realized she shouldn't just simply blame and punish her son for lying. She came up with another idea.

Before going to. bed, the boy found a note from his mother in his room, asking him to go to the living room at once. As he had already lied, he was determined to deny（否认）everything to the end, no matter how angry his mum became.

In the living room, calmly bathed in the light, his mother's face showed no sign of anger. Instead, she took a chocolate box out of a drawer and gave him one.

The mother said, "This chocolate is a reward（奖励）for your imagination: a window-opening cat!”

Now with some chocolates in hand, the boy's bad attitude（态度）disappeared.

Before a child starts school, his or her main role models are his or her parent or caregiver. Parents or caregivers with high self-esteem( 自尊) typically model this to the children, who will gradually pick up these ideas. Those who are influenced by negativity（否定性，消极态度), even if the negativity is not towards them, will often take the same way of thinking, leading to low self-esteem in childhood.

Continual praise for a child’s achievements plays a large part in a child’s view of himself or herself. Praising a child for acting as expected or something good often encourages him or her to repeat the same action and forms a sense of self-worth. Empty praise, however, can have the opposite（相反的）effect. A child who is praised for anything will stop believing the words, and the empty praise will have little effect on self-esteem in childhood or possibly a negative effect.

Providing a child with responsibilities based on his or her abilities is also important in the development of self-esteem in childhood. Making a child feel like a helpful member of a family or group, whether at home or school, helps to form a higher sense of confidence in his or her abilities. However, giving a child unfit responsibilities or tasks can do no good to the development of high self-esteem in childhood.

Each person has strengths and weaknesses. A child can build up his or her confidence level when he/she is encouraged to take part in activities ,which can provide him or her with chances to work on weaknesses(缺点) in a helpful environment . Children who are given the opportunities to use their unique skills to help others or improve themselves have higher self-esteem than those who are not given the same chances or who are pushed into activities that they do not enjoy or do not have an ability to do.