Bribery as a Parenting Technique
Todd has figured it out. He has found a soul in a seven year old of the male persuasion. Other than food that is. He is using bribery to cajole my latent reader into putting some effort into it.
Each chapter of a kid's series called The Magic Treehouse that Liam reads (not is read to) will get him a booster pack of the dreaded Yu-Gi-Oh cards. It seems pricey to me at just over $3. That is considering he read a chapter to Todd last night then insisted on reading a chapter to me as well.
This is a double-edged sword though. When you think about the costs of programs like Kumon, I think we are ahead. Liam did not lack the intelligence or the ability, he just would not bother trying. He would get to a word that he had to think about and say he was too tired to try. Stricken with my husband's penchant for hard labour, :-) it seemed that reading ahead of his class would simply not happen.
Then along came peer pressure to own the rares and ultra-rares of the Yu-Gi-Oh world. While I question the logic of the game and the amount of money that some can spend on cards, I will be grateful if Liam will spend the month of August reading two chapters a day. No doubt he will start grade two well ahead of the pack - something that boosters self-confidence and will enable him to enjoy going to school. As long as his parents don't need a second mortgage to keep up.
Each chapter of a kid's series called The Magic Treehouse that Liam reads (not is read to) will get him a booster pack of the dreaded Yu-Gi-Oh cards. It seems pricey to me at just over $3. That is considering he read a chapter to Todd last night then insisted on reading a chapter to me as well.
This is a double-edged sword though. When you think about the costs of programs like Kumon, I think we are ahead. Liam did not lack the intelligence or the ability, he just would not bother trying. He would get to a word that he had to think about and say he was too tired to try. Stricken with my husband's penchant for hard labour, :-) it seemed that reading ahead of his class would simply not happen.
Then along came peer pressure to own the rares and ultra-rares of the Yu-Gi-Oh world. While I question the logic of the game and the amount of money that some can spend on cards, I will be grateful if Liam will spend the month of August reading two chapters a day. No doubt he will start grade two well ahead of the pack - something that boosters self-confidence and will enable him to enjoy going to school. As long as his parents don't need a second mortgage to keep up.
posted by y-vonne at 4:51 AM
2 Comments:
hmmm now if only I could find a $3.00 Pavlovian bell that works on you...
Hmmm wonder what you would do for a BulkBarn
chewy foam hamburger thingy
Not to worry... we bribe our almost 4 year old with a "special treat" each week when he collects 2 daily stickers by staying in his bed at naps and nighttime.
It has gotten quite easy for him, and now we are not sure how to stop, so we started adding in other stipulations like "if you hit your brother, you lose a sticker". And get a bonus sticker if you help somebody. etc. etc.
This bribery thing(reward system)seems to work... we're just not sure when (and how) to end it! Or at least make it financially feasible... LOL. We're right there with you on the mortgage thing....
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