Child incentive to work hard at school
Discussion
Is it a good idea to offer your child an incentive to work hard at school. My little 'un is a bright cookie but just like me at school could I believe do better if she applied herself a little more.
I'm happy as long as she tries her best. Her teachers all love her and say she has the potential to do better but she needs to focus and talk a little less :-)
I dont want to put her under pressure to attain unreachable goals but telling her how important school is doesnt appear to be working.
Saying if you achieve xyz we will buy you ( whatever ).
I suppose it could backfire.
Oh and this is the first time I have posted this type of post on Pistonheads as far as I can remember lol !
I'm happy as long as she tries her best. Her teachers all love her and say she has the potential to do better but she needs to focus and talk a little less :-)
I dont want to put her under pressure to attain unreachable goals but telling her how important school is doesnt appear to be working.
Saying if you achieve xyz we will buy you ( whatever ).
I suppose it could backfire.
Oh and this is the first time I have posted this type of post on Pistonheads as far as I can remember lol !
jontysafe said:
I don't think it works. Kids live in the here and now.
Best thing you can be is engaged in their education, instill a love of knowledge and turn it into fun.
Exactly. Bribery does not work. Work with them on projects, home work etc Keeping them engaged and developing a sense of achievement from doing well will work wonders in the long term as they get older.Best thing you can be is engaged in their education, instill a love of knowledge and turn it into fun.
21TonyK said:
Exactly. Bribery does not work. Work with them on projects, home work etc Keeping them engaged and developing a sense of achievement from doing well will work wonders in the long term as they get older.
Thanks guys. Yeah we do try perhaps I should have said she's 14 and extremely independent and of course knows everything lol ! Not all kids are driven by academia. I left school at 16 with one o level, pissed my education up the wall. My first job was as a YTS trainee earning £27 a week. I am reasonably intelligent, but school held no interest for me. And no amount of pressure or coercion changed that. When I left primary school the headmaster advised my parents that I should sit the entrance exam for a local private school, and they nearly did. Luckily we didn't have a pot to piss in, because it would have been a complete waste of their time and money. And it would have been an incredible burden to place on an eleven year old who just wanted to toss it off.
Luckily I found my path. It turns out I'm reasonably creative, and in 1995 I was living in a shared house with a couple of Software Engineers who loved building and pissing about with PC's. So I saved up and bought a PC. Using a very early version of Photoshop I realised I had a flare for graphic design. And with notepad, I found I could write HTML. And my career as a web developer started.
I think the difficulty is identifying the 'thing', and at such a formative age, there might not be a 'thing' yet. I'd encourage any child to try as many different things as they can. And if they find one they love, then regardless of what it is, encourage them to put as much energy into that as they want.
Luckily I found my path. It turns out I'm reasonably creative, and in 1995 I was living in a shared house with a couple of Software Engineers who loved building and pissing about with PC's. So I saved up and bought a PC. Using a very early version of Photoshop I realised I had a flare for graphic design. And with notepad, I found I could write HTML. And my career as a web developer started.
I think the difficulty is identifying the 'thing', and at such a formative age, there might not be a 'thing' yet. I'd encourage any child to try as many different things as they can. And if they find one they love, then regardless of what it is, encourage them to put as much energy into that as they want.
Rollin said:
My Dad took me on a tour of the local steelworks. Worked for me.
Nicehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDztq1wFZvA
I think it's about instilling that sense of determination and interest rather than just dangling £100 per A grade. It really doesn't mean that much to children.
In the longer term, it can result in problems of self-worth and perfectionism, though. If you're asking about wider issues.
In the longer term, it can result in problems of self-worth and perfectionism, though. If you're asking about wider issues.
QuartzDad said:
My kids were offered £50 for every A, £150 for every A* and minus £100 for every B or lower. IiRC cost me a couple of iPhones.
Your mistake was not keeping them up late by playing loud music on the nights before the exams. You could have made a few quid out of them! AlienLifeForm said:
Not all kids are driven by academia. I left school at 16 with one o level, pissed my education up the wall. My first job was as a YTS trainee earning £27 a week. I am reasonably intelligent, but school held no interest for me. And no amount of pressure or coercion changed that. When I left primary school the headmaster advised my parents that I should sit the entrance exam for a local private school, and they nearly did. Luckily we didn't have a pot to piss in, because it would have been a complete waste of their time and money. And it would have been an incredible burden to place on an eleven year old who just wanted to toss it off.
Luckily I found my path. It turns out I'm reasonably creative, and in 1995 I was living in a shared house with a couple of Software Engineers who loved building and pissing about with PC's. So I saved up and bought a PC. Using a very early version of Photoshop I realised I had a flare for graphic design. And with notepad, I found I could write HTML. And my career as a web developer started.
I think the difficulty is identifying the 'thing', and at such a formative age, there might not be a 'thing' yet. I'd encourage any child to try as many different things as they can. And if they find one they love, then regardless of what it is, encourage them to put as much energy into that as they want.
Yes always encouraged interests. Hobbies, music etc. Nothing really stuck yet... Apart from having your phone in your hand if that was a career path she is CEO material !Luckily I found my path. It turns out I'm reasonably creative, and in 1995 I was living in a shared house with a couple of Software Engineers who loved building and pissing about with PC's. So I saved up and bought a PC. Using a very early version of Photoshop I realised I had a flare for graphic design. And with notepad, I found I could write HTML. And my career as a web developer started.
I think the difficulty is identifying the 'thing', and at such a formative age, there might not be a 'thing' yet. I'd encourage any child to try as many different things as they can. And if they find one they love, then regardless of what it is, encourage them to put as much energy into that as they want.
AlienLifeForm said:
Not all kids are driven by academia. I left school at 16 with one o level, pissed my education up the wall. My first job was as a YTS trainee earning £27 a week. I am reasonably intelligent, but school held no interest for me. And no amount of pressure or coercion changed that. When I left primary school the headmaster advised my parents that I should sit the entrance exam for a local private school, and they nearly did. Luckily we didn't have a pot to piss in, because it would have been a complete waste of their time and money. And it would have been an incredible burden to place on an eleven year old who just wanted to toss it off.
Luckily I found my path. It turns out I'm reasonably creative, and in 1995 I was living in a shared house with a couple of Software Engineers who loved building and pissing about with PC's. So I saved up and bought a PC. Using a very early version of Photoshop I realised I had a flare for graphic design. And with notepad, I found I could write HTML. And my career as a web developer started.
I think the difficulty is identifying the 'thing', and at such a formative age, there might not be a 'thing' yet. I'd encourage any child to try as many different things as they can. And if they find one they love, then regardless of what it is, encourage them to put as much energy into that as they want.
I can really relate to this - I was a smart child, top sets in a lot of subjects, but the attraction of education was lost on me, this was really driven home when I landed a part time job whilst at college and realised that working and earning was way more important to me than college. So to save everybodys time I quit college and sought out an apprenticeship. Best decision I ever made and I hold no regrets for not going on to university. Luckily I found my path. It turns out I'm reasonably creative, and in 1995 I was living in a shared house with a couple of Software Engineers who loved building and pissing about with PC's. So I saved up and bought a PC. Using a very early version of Photoshop I realised I had a flare for graphic design. And with notepad, I found I could write HTML. And my career as a web developer started.
I think the difficulty is identifying the 'thing', and at such a formative age, there might not be a 'thing' yet. I'd encourage any child to try as many different things as they can. And if they find one they love, then regardless of what it is, encourage them to put as much energy into that as they want.
My wife did go to university and has forged a career directly from her degree so we both had our own paths to navigate that works best for each of us.
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