Paying kids to do well in school

United States
April 8, 2010 12:12pm CST
I just heard an discussion on this topic on The View. Is it good to pay kids to do well in school? Me, I did get paid to do well in a way. I got extra money for each A and B O got. My mom told me at a very young age that My Job was to go to school. But today on The View Sheeri said her parents thought why pay a child to do what they were suppose to do. So I ask you what do you think?
3 people like this
21 responses
• Philippines
8 Apr 10
It's to motivate them, that's why. But It's the wrong motivation. I know a rich family. The father is a general. What he does is he cuts off all of his children from excessive allowances and makes them study so that they could get a job to make their own money. I like that strategy.
1 person likes this
• United States
8 Apr 10
That would had the opposite effect on me. I would just stop working at school and started to spend the money I had . And when it was gone I would just louge around. with the little allowence I got from grades made school , it Felt like a job.
• United States
8 Apr 10
Oops.I forgot to add , if I were a rich child.
• Philippines
8 Apr 10
That's very spoiled of you. :)
1 person likes this
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
8 Apr 10
Our next door neighbors got paid for A's, B's and even C's. I think it was a dollar an A and after that, I don't remember. I'm thinking at one point we maybe got paid a quarter for each A, but I'm not even sure that's a true memory. I don't pay my children for their grades though. Never even occurred to me.
1 person likes this
• United States
8 Apr 10
I didn't get the backstory until my mom had passed away but my mom would act like she was going to school but she would ditch to see movies. She didn't graduate . She got her GED when she was in her 50's! So to make sure I would graduate, she told me, I didn't have to chores , All I had to do is go to school. And I did. And I did very well.
1 person likes this
@zed_k4 (17589)
• Singapore
9 Apr 10
LOL..I dreamed of becoming a superstar when I was young.. Would take some mattress for the curtain stage and play something which is like the game Guitar Hero nowadays.. but in my own version last time wuahauahuahua...
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
8 Apr 10
My mom was a superstar. I did OK, but I was never a superstar. lol
1 person likes this
• Grand Junction, Colorado
3 May 10
I see nothing wrong with giving children motivation to do well in school. I also believe that it's their job to go to school learn and always try their best. Some children need this. I never did this with my oldder children, but my youngest will probably be a different story, she's in first grade and already complains about having to go to school. I think that some parents could learn a thing or 2 from those parents who's children get good grades, do as their told and are well behaved. So my answer is if it works for your family great!! If your a parent struggling with your child to get good grades, here's a great suggestion. Happy mylotting!!!
• United States
4 May 10
I hated going to school every year until my Junior year of Highschool.
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
9 Apr 10
I got paid and so did my kids for good grades! I think it's incentive for them to study harder....
1 person likes this
• United States
10 Apr 10
I didn't study any harder. I just tried my best and I got awarded!
• Philippines
9 Apr 10
It's a way to motivate kids. A sort of positive reinforcement on the other hand I am somehow against this method of motivation. Students' should always be expected to do good in school whether there's a reward or not.
1 person likes this
• United States
9 Apr 10
I think a child should do their best and when it turns into an A , There should be praise and money, if the parents can do it, too. I can see where money is tight , that a parent can't give money , but in those households there should be more praise.
• India
9 Apr 10
yaa some time this tool is effective and useful but in a regular way this practice is dangerous, sometimes parents do this to keep kid away but regular habbit can make kids addicts of this and kid will look for money if any work or activity is asked to do them.
1 person likes this
• United States
10 Apr 10
I was spoiled but I still helped my mom when she needed me , without thinking , will I get paid for this? the main thing is I saw school as my job, the one thing I Had to do and when I did well I got awarded!
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
9 Apr 10
I don't see anything wrong with it. Like you say...going to school is their job. But at the same time a privledge to get educated and get smart for ones future.however..since money is what runs this country today and so many kids are not being educated in the school system about money (they learn all the details about Romeo and Juliet and all that kind of stuff..but are not taught a penny about how to balance a check book or do anything finacially) so it is the parents job to teach this kind of stuff to the kids. How can a kid be taught about spending and saving money if they don't have any to learn with? And maybe if they are paid for good grades, they might first work hard to get just the money, but in working hard in the beginning, no matter the reason, as it goes on... they will end up learning more and better and quicker...so as to get the money but in the end they will just wind up being smart and educated and better ready to embark on the new world once they graduate and go out on their own.
1 person likes this
@cortjo73 (6498)
• United States
8 Apr 10
I was a straight A and B student, and sometimes a straight A student. My mom also told me it was my job to go to school and do the best in school that I could. But, she and my dad did not pay us for our grades. And, I don't blame her for that. Yes, it was my job but, not in the sense that an adult has a job and, what I wanted wasn't what I needed. I didn't need a new Barbie or Care Bear. I wanted that. People work to afford the necessities in life. Food, water, electricity, etc. Kids don't have to pay for that stuff. My parents would get me the things I wanted as gifts and sometimes just because they thought I deserved it. We also never had an allowance. If I got money, I earned it in other ways. They didn't pay us to clean the house or pick up after ourselves. Most of my money came from gifts on Birthdays from relatives and, once I was old enough to babysit and then when I was old enough to clean my dad's office. My parents didn't believe in paying us for every little thing we did well like grades or cleaning up what we should have been cleaning up like making our beds, cleaning our rooms or helping out with chores around the house. We learned responsibility. No one pays you for grades or cleaning your house as an adult. Why give a kid such high expectations by paying them for that stuff? You get paid when you are an adult and you put your education to use. You hard work and grades pay off in the future. My payment with my good grades was the pride in doing a good job. My payment in cleaning the house was a heartfelt Thank you from my Mom. That pride and gratitude meant more to me than getting cold hard cash.
1 person likes this
• United States
9 Apr 10
That's fantastic but this wouldn't have worked with me. I got an allowance and extra money for grades. I truly believe without that motivation I would have just failed everything. Without my mom telling me it was my job , I would have dropped out.
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
9 Apr 10
When I was a child my father gave me money each time I got an A or a B. If my exams went well, he also bought me presents and took me out for dinner. It was very important to him that I did my very best, and he was disappointed if I got a bad grade. One day I overheard a discussion between my father and one of his friends. His friend said: "I don't give my children money if they do well in school I only pay them when they don't do well. When they get an A or a B, the grade is a source of happiness for the child, and the child doesn't need money as well. When my child gets a bad grade they did need comfort and that is why I give them money for the bad grades and not for the good grades" My father replied: "That is a very strange idea. I think it wrong to give children money for bad grades" and they had a long discussion about that topic.
1 person likes this
• United States
9 Apr 10
I'm with your dad.if I Knew I would get comfort And money for failing a class, I would have failed everything!
• Philippines
9 Apr 10
my parents rewards me every time i did well in school. For me it is our responsibility to have good grades and through rewards given to us by our parents. I think we can be motivated with that.
1 person likes this
• Indonesia
9 Apr 10
I have no problem with that method of parenting. In fact, I was raised in one. I believe it's good motivate the kids with money because good grades are important for their future. It won't do any harm as long as it's overdone because they may become materialistic. Let's say, an amount for shopping at the mall is good.
1 person likes this
@Cutie18f (9546)
• Philippines
9 Apr 10
I do not want to call it "paying". Maybe "rewarding" is a better term here. If a kid does something good, or if the child excels in something, then it is appropriate for the parents to reward the child. It is good to give rewards no matter how little because this will encourage the kid to do more. There is nothing wrong with it.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
8 Apr 10
I think it's kind of sad. At a time when pretty much everything has a price and is a commodity, paying kids to do well in school kind of makes studying a commodity (instead of a responsibility) as well. Well, if you think about it, it is, in a way (good education = good investment etc.., and also the way that a good education is so expensive these days). But I find it sad that something so basic and integral and even a basic right of a child has to go down that road... Also, I think it doesn't send the right message to kids to do that. It only reinforces that pay-to-get-what-you-want mentality. I also think that it pushes kids to be more grade-conscious than learning-conscious. What I mean by that is that these days we tend to measure achievement in terms of grades when really it all boils down to the skills and abilities that a child has learned (and not memorized) at school that is of more importance later in life. I'm a living testament to that - I spent most of my school life memorizing all sorts of things and obsessed with getting perfect grades, only to discover later that I don't really need to know the 20 essential amino acids or the formula of the quadratic equation to survive and have a great life. Anyway, that's just my two cents' worth (is that equivalent to a D, perhaps? hehe)
1 person likes this
• United States
9 Apr 10
I can understand your view.My mom didn't pressure me to get All A's . She just wanted me to do my best. And then when I did very well I got awarded.And I believe the best thing I learned in school was How to learn. I miss Algebra and I am bummed that I don't need it these days!
@werty009 (404)
• Philippines
9 Apr 10
for me it's a no no cause they will just do well for something in there is a reward although giving reward sometimes is a good thing to say that you appreciate the kid's doing well in school but if you always give's reward i think the kid would be spoiled and not do well if there is no reward for what the kid will do
1 person likes this
• United States
9 Apr 10
I am the first to admit, I am spoiled rotten! I would do the courses I Knew I could do well in time and the others I just averaged a D and went on.
@maximax8 (31046)
• United Kingdom
8 Apr 10
It is wise that parents find a way to motivate their children to do well at school. Some children and teenage students are motivated by money. It might be a way for him or her to save up for something that he or she wants. If a sixteen year old is doing her General Certificate of Education exams her mother might give her one pound for every D grade, five pounds for each C grade, ten pounds for every B grade and twenty pounds for each A grade. Many children like to win points for a treat if the family are poor.
1 person likes this
@kquiming (2997)
• Philippines
8 Apr 10
Well kids are kids, they're don't really have a sense of responsibility especially if they're really young. Younger kids could use toys or chocolates as motivation. Anyway I think money as a motivation really works for everyone. Even adults. Isn't money the main reason why we adults are working? So I really believe money is almost always the motivation to succeed. Not all the time, but a lot of time it is.
1 person likes this
@lelin1123 (15595)
• Puerto Rico
8 Apr 10
I think this idea is good for the troubled child in school. I know there is always a class with all the trouble makers and slow learning kids. I think it might work better for them because they need the movitation more then the good kids. It will give them more a sense of purpose and will make them feel better about themselves instead of constantly causing trouble within the classroom. I think it would be a great motivating factor for them.
1 person likes this
@umit_umit (1984)
• India
8 Apr 10
well its good to motivate the child but only need ful expenses should be given so that the kid for the extra will work hard himself to fullfill that!
1 person likes this
@marmar75 (168)
• Australia
9 Apr 10
It's for encouragement. In grade school, I used to give my test paper (with perfect scores) to my dad, so he'd give me a specific amount of money. I'd be so happy to put it in my coin bank. You see, young kids don't understand yet the importance of doing well in school, so you have to bribe them sometimes. Also, it helps them learn money management at a young age. They can learn how to save money, or to work hard in order to earn better.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
9 Apr 10
i guess paying kids to do well serves as a motivation.. it will remind them that excelling will do them more good.. so instead of being average, they will thrive harder to make better things than the usual.. i hope my parents are like that so i can harness my skills, talents and abilities..
1 person likes this