Rewards?

The hot topic of rewards always comes up when I am talking to parents of students I work with.  Some parents think that rewarding  a child for getting their homework complete is ok.  Behaving in class should be rewarded or treating a reward as a bargaining tool for parents when their child is driving them nuts is ok. WRONG!  Rewards are appropriate when we think of the big picture.  One has to ask them self the following questions when considering  to use a reward system.

Is this helping the child learn independence?
Is the reward going to help the child achieve a bigger goal?
Is the reward being used to get the child off ones back, behave in public, or achieve a short term goal that has no benefit in the long run?

If your child is completing their homework the reward is ultimately going to be better grades in class because they are keeping up with the work load and getting things done in a timely manner.  If your child comes home on the honour role, or achieves a grade that both you and your child said they were going to work towards in the long term, that deserves a reward.  They set out to achieve something and they DID IT! 

Rewards can be really helpful as something to work towards.  It values your children's efforts and allows them to see the benefit of pursuing something to completion!  Use rewards for the right reason not a quick fix!