Trusty37

I really need some advice on this one. I bet most people have very firm opinions about this one but I hope you'll read the details before you decide.

My nine year old son is a bit behind in reading and spelling. I decided to encourage him to read and write by offering him an 'At Home' financial opportunity . What the opportunity entails is him choosing to do practice work sheets at home any time he wants for pocket change. I write a cash value at the top of each paper (15 cents for an easy paper, 25 cents for a hard one, etc) and any time he wants he can do a work sheet. If he's done it correctly I pay him the money. I make him fix his mistakes.

We started this system today. He decided to do three worksheets, which took about an hour, and he made a total of 75 cents. At this rate, if he did three work sheets every other day, it'd take him a month just to make twelve bucks so I'm not exactly throwing money at him. He says he's going to wait until he has lots of money saved up and buy something good at a toy store.

I figure this system will do a few things; it will get him practicing reading and spelling more - which will hopefully make his school life easier, and he'll learn the value of a dollar. At his school the teachers reward children who do their school work properly by giving them special snacks and such. I figure my reward system is basically the same thing, only with pocket change instead of food.

The problem is I began to think that this could backfire because he might not be as motivated to do school work since he's not getting paid to do it like he is at home. So I made a deal that any time he brings home a paper with a 100% on it, I'll give him a nickel to add to the bank. So for example, if he brings home five A+ papers a day (which is rare) he'd make a quarter to add to his bank.

He's pretty happy with this system and has big plans to go to the toy store and I'm happy because he's motivated to practice reading and writing.

Do you think using money as a reward for school work is a bad idea?
I've never turned to a parenting forum before. I'm feeling unsure about this.

fallon

I think it's a great idea. I reward my daughter with small amounts of money for lots of things, doing well in school, helping me around the house. helping with her brother, whatever. I'm sure there are lots of people who would say it's a bad idea but as far as I can tell school and chores are a childs job and they should be paid for such things, just like as adults you are paid for your job and rewarded with raises and bonuses when you do well.

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Father_0f_6

I dont do that with my kids because 1. we expect them to get good grades and 2. because they always have gotten good grades.
If they were like your child and didnt seem to be getting good grades we would probably do it.

I know my mom did it for my sister except it was a little different. She didnt give any money for individual papers, she gave anywhere between a dollar and 5 dollars for every A on a report card. and if she got all "A's" she got anywhere between 50 to 100 dollars. We used to all get money but she soon found out that if she did it for all of us (shannon was the only one who never did very well in school) she would soon go broke.

I know it certinly worked better for shannon when it was for her report card, but it seems like your plan is working too. I like it.

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Dadu2004

I think it's a wonderful idea. You're being creative with your child to get them to learn something that otherwise may be extremely dry for him. Sometimes we as parents have to come up with creative motivations to get our children to a direction of where they need to be. Good for you.

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PeacefulMama

Children learn best when they are having fun so if it is fun for him to earn money for his worksheets and A+ papers it may be a good idea. I love that you're not forcing him to do the worksheets, btw.

However, I am concerned that it may decrease his self worth if he isn't bringing home those "perfect" papers. It may send a message that says "even though I tried my best, I'm still not good enough". If it were me I would not be letting on either way if I were pleased or disappointed by his grades, I would only focus on making reading more fun for him. Some ideas...finding games on the internet (that require reading) that he would like, maybe he likes comic books, etc. Sometimes it helps to find things that are the farthest from "schoolish" as possible.

mom2many

I don't pay my kids for what I expect them to do, but in your case he isn't expected to do them, it's an option, so I think that is ok. I just wouldn's pay for report card grades, that is his responsibility, and we shouldn't pay for those.

I also agree with the last part of PeacefulMama about being careful.

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Jennifer, mom to some wonderful kids!

Trina

If it works for your son, that's great, however, I would be more concerned about WHY he's having trouble in school in the first place. It is laziness or is he actually having trouble learning and keeping up? What does his teacher say? If not laziness or a lack of interest in school, it's possible he could have a learning disability, in which case, your payment system isn't going to help.

FWIW, I'm not comfortable with teachers using food as a reward. That wouldn't fly in our school district.

AmyBelle

Same. Its more than allowed in our area, but I dont like the idea of it. If the teacher's that impressed with the way his/her class is behaving then a little extra playing time at the end of the day or a fun activity instead of the normal stuff or even a sticker is appropriate, but "Yay youve been good, have chocolate" dosent exactly fly with me.


Personally, I wouldnt be paying out for the school work, I think thats something that should be expected of him. I also agree with what both Trina and PeacefulMomma have said, in that there has to be a reason why he's not doing well, and you should be exploring why and that getting him to enjoy reading, rather than treating it as a chore would be more beneficial.

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fallon

I agree that school work is expected but I also think it's a job like any other and they should be rewarded for doing well. I don't agree with teachers giving food as rewards though, I don't think that happens here

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Xero

I think that's a great idea. Sounds like you came up with a really great set up for him. Yeah, good grades are something you should expect of your kids, and it is their responsibility, but if there's any way to help them succeed I don't see why not. It's not like you're giving him ten bucks for one little paper or anything. It's just pocket change. And you're also teaching him to save up, and that when you save, you can get something big. When he's older, that skill will help him save for a car or college or something. So really you can't lose in this situation as far as I can see.

I just think that if you can find an easy and enjoyable way for your son to do better in school and with his studies, why not use it? If not that, you'd have to start forcing him to sit and study when he doesn't want to (which is fine, but can be stressful), and have his teachers watch him like hawks in school, which is also hard for a kid. If it were me I would definitely use this to encourage him.

It's a small price to pay to watch your child enjoy reading.

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