Hi Joh, I also thought it was interesting. I really liked the idea of helping the child to look at what they enjoyed about activities and evaluate how they felt about something, and I suppose in the instance of sharing, evaluating how their actions have made someone else feel.
I do think that they have gone a bit over board in their arguements against praising and rewarding but I do see where they are coming from. And I also think children will react differently depending on their personaility.
The article is actually quite relevant to a situation that someone close to me was talking about the other day. They were saying how they are having difficuties currently with their new career (first real career after schooling). They were saying that they are so used to "getting the pat on the back" (their words) that they are really struggling now that they are not constantly praised in their job, they are constantly seeking affirmation from their boss and feeling quite down when they don't always get it. Mind you, this person is a perfectionist, and always does a fantastic job.
So there you go, the article was quite relevant in that case. Mind you I'm sure that children will react differently according to their personality.
However, it can really only be a good thing to help a child grow up to believe in their own ability and be happy because they know, or feel they have done a good job, or enjoyed something, rather than require affirmation from others to feel this way.