Bribing your children to read
Raising a reader is the wish and hope of millions of parents, but what is the best way to incentivise your children to read?
This is something I’ve thought about a lot, probably too much, as I have introduced books into my son’s life.
My general parenting philosophy has always been to be as honest as possible with him, and even when I know the answer may be upsetting, or even if my explanation may be a little difficult for him to grasp at his age, I have still stuck to the honesty behind my policy.
Like if he queries: “Do I have to?”
My reply often starts with ‘no’ but going on to explain the consequences if he doesn’t, or my case as to why I believe he should do something.
With reading, or with books, there was enjoyment there from the start, and that is something I never want to sap away, as to me, that’s the key to wanting to read.
Which is why I was a little perturbed when the pressure started from school, for my boy to start to read for himself, rather than letting me do it.
He found this frustrating, like I’m sure many children do, a mixture of not being able to do it straightaway, and not being given a choice of books, or any that where anywhere near as appealing as the ones in his own collection.
I must admit to being tempted to entice him into reading his school books with bribery, but thought better of it.
My fear being that spurring a child to read with other rewards, or treats, implies that reading is a necessary evil, rather than a joy itself.
Instead I listened and sympathised with him, agreeing with his angst about some of the dross he had been given to read, but tried to motivate him to read them by explaining how many literal doors reading competence can open, and how wonderful reading can be given the choice of material.
Either policy carries an amount of risk, and indeed, can mean very different things in the short, and longer terms.
Joyce Grant, who writes the excellent Getting Kids Reading blog wrote about using a rewards system to get reluctant readers to read.
KidsCash is an earning and redemption system, where children get ‘cash’ for doing jobs that their parents want them to do, which can then be redeemed for things they want, like toys or TV time.
I commented as to why I thought this was possibly dangerous, and I am glad that I did, as Joyce reminded me that parenting is not a one-cap-fits-all scenario, even citing an example where paying a child to read can work.
However I recalled the impending report of Michael Norris, an American publishing expert, who is recommending that reading should not be considered a chore, or good behaviour.
But as I hope I’ve demonstrated, parenting is not perhaps an exact science, and it is the outcomes that we are all interested in rather than the means at any one given time.
Have you ‘bribed’ a child to read? Or would you ever consider doing so?
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