A wave of recent research has pointed to the risks of overpraising a child. But for parents, drawing the line between too little praise and too much has become a high-pressure balancing act.

近来一些研究指出了过分表扬孩子可能带来的种种风险。不过，对于家长而言，要在夸奖得太少与太多之间划清界限，这难度不亚于顶着巨大的压力走高空绳索。

Cara Greene, a mother of three children ages 1 to 8, is wary of deliberately pumping up her kids' egos, for fear of instilling the sense of entitlement she sees in young adults 'who have been told they're wonderful and they can do anything.' But she also wants them to have healthy self-esteem.

家住纽约市的卡拉•格林(Cara Greene)有三个一岁到八岁大的孩子。这位母亲一直很谨慎，不去刻意让孩子的自我膨胀，因为格林担心那样做会让孩子心中滋长出她在那些"一直以来都被告知他们很棒而且他们能做任何事"的年轻人身上所看到的那种自以为是的感觉。不过，她也希望自己的孩子们能够拥有健全的自我认知。

'We wouldn't be doing our children any favors by overinflating their egos. At the same time, I want them to have the confidence to tackle any challenge that is placed before them,' says Ms. Greene, of New York City.

格林说："让孩子的自我过于膨胀对他们来说没有任何好处。而与此同时，我也希望他们拥有足够的自信，能够应付任何他们需要面临的挑战。"

Now, psychologists are creating a deeper and more nuanced understanding of self-esteem, which could make it easier for parents to walk that line. Some of the conclusions: It can actually be good for kids to have low self-esteem, at least temporarily. And praise can harm if it disregards the world outside the home. Children who have a realistic