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by PurpleRN on December 21st, 2006

PurpleRN

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Do you think by giving incentives (like money) for kids to get good grades, and do better in school, would actually work, or really make them any smarter?

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Answers. 18 helpful answers below.

  • by Psyonic on December 21st, 2006

    Psyonic

    I have to admit that I have done it in the past and it does work with my daughter. It started when she got a certificate for worker of the week and we gave her £5 as a reward, she does seem to try harder now and get better results. I don't like doing it, but it is has worked with her.

    The problem is that most systems like that are not fair on the kids that are good all the time. I remember their was a lot of fuss in the newspapers a few years back when kids who were never at school and were out stealing cars, doing drugs etc. were told that if they went back to school and behaved then they would go on a great holiday! Getting them back to school is a good thing, but they get a reward for being good for once and the kids that are there every day and get great grades all the time get nothing! Now that sounds unfair to me.

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  • by chonklawrd on January 8th, 2007

    chonklawrd

    Extrinsic motivators (bribes) are very effective in education. Research has shown that bribes should come at random intervals (unexpectedly) and be based on quality rather than quantity--for best results.

    Claims that extrinsic motivation undercuts the development of intrinsic motivation (pride, sense of responsibility, drive to do well, et cetera) haven't been satisfactorily proven.

    I believe, however, that bribes should be tied to a system that helps to promote intrinsic motivation. For example, you could encourage your child to set goals, then reward them (randomly) as you see them moving toward meeting those goals. By setting their own goals and measuring their own progress toward meeting them, children can learn to motivate themselves.

    Another helpful tip--reward with tokens rather than with specific items. Then you can allow your child to redeem the tokens for their choice of items or privileges. That way you make the reward much more attractive to the recipient. You don't have to worry about them getting tired of or used to receiving a specific reward (which would reduce its effectiveness as a motivator.) You could even allow them to be creative in how they spend the tokens. "Hey dad, how many tokens would it cost me to have you mow the lawn for me this week?" or "Can we have pizza for dinner if I give you 50 tokens?"

    To sum:
    Reward quality work, unexpectedly.
    Encourage goal-setting.
    Develop a simple token economy to make everything more flexible and keep motivation levels high.

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  • by benjamin123 on December 27th, 2006

    benjamin123

    You have to be careful with monetary incentives. I would tend to stay away from them for this. There have been some amazing studies that have tested monetary incentives.

    One of the more famous involves late pickups at a day care center. Some researchers tracked the number of late pickups with no fine levied to the parents over 10 weeks, and then the number of late pickups after a 5 dollar fine was levied and found that the number of late pickups actually increased after the fine was imposed.

    The most accepted explanation is that the moral/intrinsic incentive of putting the teacher/care provider at inconvenience was replaced by an economic incentive once the fine went in place. Now obviously the fine could be increased to the point where the economic incentive becomes so large it outweighs any moral incentive, but that opens up a whole new crop of issues.

    The other interesting thing they found was that after the fine was removed again the late pickup rate did not recede back to it's original level.

    What does this mean for you? It means that providing an economic incentive to do school work could be a dangerous ploy that has negative results and is hard to get back out of once you start down that path.

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  • by littl_foggy on December 21st, 2006

    littl_foggy

    I think it's a good idea there is nothing wrong with rewarding hard work.

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  • by sheenashark on December 21st, 2006

    sheenashark

    Depends, my mom use it pay me for A's the end of each quarter. You get paid for a job well done when you have a job, and it gave me money to save toward buying a car when the time came. You get scholarships if you do well in school, isn't that also being paid for a job well done? Sadly, despite the belief that self esteem makes people feel good and do well, it has had an adverse effect on people. Now that people think they are the center of their universe, they think they are good no matter how they do and everyone around can just deal with it. I think we'd be in better shape if that hadn't happened. But since it has, you have to motivate people somehow, and why not let it be a fiscal reward for a job well done. We all like bonuses don't we? It should be for actual good grades though, which I'm sure someone will have a problem with (unfair treatment or something).

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  • by tris992000 on December 21st, 2006

    tris992000

    I have to admit to being guilty of this one. I give my kids $100 if their end of term report has all A's or above on it, or $50 if it's all B's or above. Anything below they get nothing, except last time our youngest had risen from an E- to C+ in maths and the teacher wrote "tried really hard and a great improvement" so we felt he had earnt it.

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  • by Muric on January 4th, 2007

    Muric

    I think it's good if you give a reward as a casual present (Ah, look, due your marks I will give you ...). But if you say him/her it or you usually tell him/her: "I will give/buy you... If you have good marks this term etc. He/she will make it for the reward, he/she won't learn he/she has to study more or or he/she won't be used to study, etc.
    Then they will do things depending on the "reward/punishment".

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  • by Anonymous on December 21st, 2006

    Anonymous

    Who is going to pay all of them and how much?? Once it got started if it worked, and the money was good, they would ALL want to get opaid to do something they should be trying to do for free.

    It would teach very poor standards to them, and in the end I don't think they could keep it up. They still would want to play and goof off, and most of them could not get really good grades and goof off as much as many do now! We would end up with adults who talk like many athletes who make HUGE money and got through HS or COLLEGE even on sports scholarship, and they talk like they did not get beyond 6th grade English.

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  • by nevets - badgicide on December 21st, 2006

    nevets - badgicide

    The government are paying kids in England. It must have some effect, but I am strongly against this sort of scheme. I don't think kids should be bribed to have an education.

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  • by purplecows on August 2nd, 2009

    purplecows

    I think it would be much better to show them how the education will improve their lives, help them get jobs, secure their futures, etc.

    BUT!!!!! maybe it won't!!!!!

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  • by Tacet on June 25th, 2008

    Tacet

    Sure it would work, but what about the kids who do well anyway? Why should we pay kids for something they should already be doing for free? And who would pay them?

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  • by hazel1908 on March 19th, 2008

    hazel1908

    I don't know if it is wrong or right, but in my home we reward our daughter with money. She gets $5.00 for every A on her report card. Some mat think it is wrong, but it works for us. She has always been on the A/B honor roll, and has never missed a day of school yet, she is in the 4th grade.

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  • by jinalkothari on March 19th, 2008

    jinalkothari

    I think doing this would have a deep impact on the child on a long run .

    If you give monitory or any other kinds of incentives to the kids for studies or good behavior , they would tend to create a mentality that they should do good things in order to earn money . They then might not realize the real reason for education . The whole idea behind education would become incentive rather than the hunger for knowledge and understanding .

    Now it is entirely different if you pay your kids for doing chores . That would actually help them understand the value of money and savings at an early age .

    I personally would not recommend giving incentive for studies . You could always give the kid a pat on the back . Also as a parent , one must realize that it is not all about grades , but about the person a kid gradually becomes .

    Hope this helps.
    Comments and suggestions are always welcome .

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  • by MaggieZPA on June 25th, 2008

    MaggieZPA

    I did not pay my son for grades, I didn't think he should be taught that he'd get paid to do what he was supposed to do for himself, I also did not give him treats when he peed in the toilet!

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  • by DudeLer on June 25th, 2008

    DudeLer

    money is the worst incentive.

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  • by Little miss cheeky on February 23rd, 2009

    Little miss cheeky

    i think you should reward them in different ways...like at the end of the year if they do really well buy t hem a suprise treat and praise them. that way it isn't like bribery. cuz if u bribe them, then they are doing it for the wrong reasons. children should want to learn becaus ethey will learn soomething...not because they want extra pocket money.

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  • by wwwwww on June 25th, 2008

    wwwwww

    When in Rome do as the Romans do - sure if we lived in some Amish culture or there of the like, we could get into the merits of it... But we live in a society that fly's a capitalist flag... Give kids an allowance and then provide them other incentives to make more money... (I would actually give a certain amount of money that would stipulate, that it be spent on their friends, and that a return had to be made on it and they had to document how the money was spent etc.... Most likely a college endeavor).

    But to break that barrier of eight to twelve dollars an hour, it will be easier to have it feel like it's second nature to haggle for their pay.... But then, not everyone can be on top - there's gotta be more employees than employers....

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  • by Sin Binned on July 23rd, 2007

    Sin Binned

    Yes, it will keep the motivation there to do better and better, don’t let them take it for granted, explain to them that is some businesses it work the same, great results = great rewards!!!!

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