Reading Response 1- Incentives

I do not believe that children should be given incentives just to do better at something. If you are going to give your child money, make them work for it. Show them the value of a dollar and not the value of a letter grade. Children are required to go to school in order to learn and become educated. If your children want to do something or go out with friends and they need money have them work for it. There are chores they can do around the house like mowing the yard or taking out the trash and for every task done allot each one with a certain dollar amount. Show your child the value of a dollar and what it means to work for it. When I was in school, my father tried to bribe me with money for good grades. For every A I earned I got $20; if I got straight A’s I received $100. I believe the only reason he started this was for my younger sister who was having a hard time in school and he wanted her to focus more on her learning. In the end it did not really work and I ended up having to tutor her through most of her classes as we got older. Even though I was given the money, I would always share it with my sister and we would go to the movies or the arcade and just have fun. My children are now at the age where I can start giving them chores to do to help me out around the house. I have started them off with small things to do, like cleaning their room, taking out the bathroom trash, and helping me load the dishwasher. For each small task they complete they get fifty cents and a dollar for the bigger ones. I have also introduced them to a piggy bank where they can save their money until it becomes an amount where they can actually buy something other than candy. I am hoping this will instill in them the value of hard work and the responsibility needed in making and saving money.