Joh,
I suscribe to that website where the article comes from and there really are some great articles. I have used quite a few of them. That one is really interesting. I think there needs to be a balance in everything and too much reward and praise is not good and so is too little.
My concern is with the situation Carrie described. I worry that we are bringing up children that are used to being rewarded and praised and in reality life is not like that all the time, as Carrie's friend is finding. Of course it will vary with other influences people have in their lives. Personally I want my child to have a sense of independence and an inherent sense of self worth ie. not having to get that from other people's praise and reward. I would love a magic formula to instill that in my child