Was at Little Athletics the other week and overheard the following conversation:
Kid (about 10 to his mother): "Mum, I got a PB (personal best)."
Mother: "Great."
Kid: "Where's my 10 bucks?"
I spoke to the mum afterwards and apparently she gives her kids $10 every time they get a personal best at Little Athletics. She reckoned that they were reluctant to do some of the events so this is how she got them to participate.
I've since discovered that this is not uncommon.
I am stunned! It is not something that would have occurred to me. Some of the events don't interest my girls, but I just tell them they have to do them until Christmas. After that, if they still don't want to do them, then they can skip those ones.
I'm not sure that even paying them to participate or as a reward when they get a PB would make any difference to them. I'm not sure how motivated they would be by this. I'm not willing to do it though!
What do the rest of you think? Would you pay your kids to get them to participate in things / motivate them to do better?
6 comments:
No... But that's just me. But, I DID tie the allowance to the cleanliness of the room... I did 'pay' for chores/jobs, but not for sports.
No kids yet myself, but my parents did not provide me an allowance - they paid me on a graduated scale for grades. Suffice to say, I got pretty good grades in high school...
We were never paid for grades or extra-curricular activities. I was expected to get decent grades and, if I did exceptionally well, my parents would reward me - usually dinner out at a restaurant of my choosing.
I did get an allowance but it was meager and just enough to allow me to learn some money management. Once I was old enough for a job, the allowance stopped and if I wanted to buy something, I was expected to have a job to earn the money. Which is one reason why, at 15 years old, I was working in a supermarket while my friends were playing Nintendo.
I wouldn't change any of that as it taught me a good work ethic and equated having money with being productive.
I have two toddlers and plan on handling money very similar with them.
When my children were growing up they had chores that were just a part of life. If they wanted something special they did EXTRA chores for an agreed amount of time to EARN the money. They still had to do the regular chores. When they were old enough to work they got part time jobs and the money was theirs to do what they wanted with but by that time they had an idea of how hard it is to make that money and were pretty good about what they spent it on. By the time he was 16 my son had already bought his own used pickup and was restoring it all with his own money.
My older kids get an allowance, but it's contingent on grades, condition of their room, and helping out around the house above and beyond their normal chores. I don't think I'd ever pay my kids to take part in extra-curriculars.
Thanks for your responses guys. I am going to carry on the way we are and not reward them in this way.
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