Students Acting as Secret Police to Gain Praise Revealing a Disturbing Addiction to Approval

In today’s schools, children face different issues than they did a decade ago.

With changes in their upbringing environment, children’s characteristics have also evolved, leaving schools struggling to respond. One example of this is the rise in “silent classroom breakdowns,” as observed in Part One: Shocking Report on Education – “Is Leaving the Classroom Without Permission a Trait?” The Reality of Classroom Breakdown.

In classroom incidents, the behaviors of children with developmental disabilities are often highlighted. However, teachers report that an increase in children with what could be called “Praise-Me Syndrome” is further exacerbating these issues.

From Report: How Smartphone Parenting is Destroying Children by Kota Ishii (published by Shinchosha), in which over 200 educators discuss the struggles children face, we can observe the reality of praise addiction in children.

One observation from teachers over the past few years is the increase in physical contact among children. Male middle school students now hold hands or link arms as they walk to and from school, and in the classroom, they might sit on each other’s laps or cling to teachers. This phenomenon, unrelated to LGBTQ issues, is becoming a part of everyday life.

A teacher shared the following:

“This isn’t a matter of right or wrong, but the frequency of physical contact among children has noticeably increased over the past few years. A common trait among these children is their constant need for praise.

They come up to teachers during every break, saying, ‘Look what I can do,’ or, ‘I did this,’ and they won’t be satisfied until they’re praised with comments like, ‘That’s amazing,’ or ‘Good job.’ If they aren’t praised, some of them even get upset. About 20 years ago, there were one or two children like this in a class; now it’s five or six on average, and in some larger classes, it’s nearly ten.”

“Isn’t that great?”

In general, it’s natural for people to have a desire for recognition. If they’re doing something worthy of praise, adults should acknowledge and commend them. However, this type of child seems to have an extreme desire for attention, often seeking praise without doing anything significant.

The teacher continues:

“Children who approach teachers just to be praised aren’t doing anything special. For instance, they might try to be praised by undermining a classmate. They’ll say things like, ‘Teacher, so-and-so is doing this. I noticed it. Aren’t I great?’ By reporting on others, they seek validation. They prioritize being praised and don’t consider the consequences for the classmate they reported on.”

Such children, once praised, will seek endless praise.

Imagine a student noticing a classmate cheating during a test and telling the teacher. After being praised, this student might start acting like a secret police, trying to expose more classmates’ cheating, even suspecting innocent ones.

One might think they’d realize such behavior would make them unpopular with their classmates. However, they prioritize being praised over maintaining relationships within the class.

Why do they go to such lengths just to be praised?