Should you use rewards to motivate your child to study? Based on the “what’s-in-it-for-me” principal, the concept that diligence is rewarded is entrenched in our daily lives, says Gail Dore, a former life skills teacher and author of Bully Proof (Struik, Lifestyle 2015). As adults, we’re paid a salary, or wages, for our labour and, if we’ve worked particularly hard, we might even receive a bonus.
That doesn’t mean we should pay our children money to do their homework or study for exams, but for a child who doesn’t find academic success gratifying on it’s own, we need to look at other means of encouragement. Positive incentives, such as a new toy or an outing, to celebrate a good exam result might work, particularly if it’s something your child really…
