Your comment post should be at least 260 words this week
due Thursday by 11:59 pm (worth 70 points) and you will be responsible for
responding (respectfully) to one of your classmates in at least a one paragraph
reply entries by Sunday at 11:59 pm (worth 30 points).
Should Parents Bribe Their Children?
Sometimes
children don’t naturally do what their parents want them to do. They play video
games instead of reading books. They don’t clean up their toys after they’re
finished playing. They make too much noise or don’t eat their vegetables. As
they get older, they might not do their homework, study for tests or clean
their room. What’s a thoughtful parent to do?
Should
parents bribe their children to do what’s right — with cash, extra screen time
or other extrinsic rewards?
In “The
Right Way to Bribe Your Kids to Read,” KJ Dell’Antonia writes
about trying to find the best way to motivate children:
My children need to read
this summer. They’re in the middle of a long vacation from school, and I want
them to enjoy it — but I also want them to be able to pick up their education
where they left off when school starts again in the fall.
Kids who read over the
summer lose fewer skills than kids who don’t. This is especially important for
children from low-income families and those with language problems, like my
younger daughter. When reading is difficult, so is almost everything else. As
new readers move from decoding text to fluency, every subject from math to
history becomes more accessible, but practice is the only way to get there.
My kids (15, 12, 10 and
10) have an enviable amount of time to read, and plenty of books to choose
from. Yet it’s already clear that beyond a late August dash to fulfill their
assignments, very few pages are likely to be turned unless I do something. But
what?
The answer many parents
fall back on is bribery.
Students: Read the entire article, then tell us:
—
Should parents bribe their children with money, treats or toys? Are bribes an
effective way to get children to do what parents want them to do, such as read
more books, eat healthier food or be better behaved? Can they be a way to
jump-start or encourage a certain behavior that eventually becomes a habit?
— Or
are bribes counterproductive in the long run? Do they end up teaching the wrong
lessons? Will children become accustomed to doing the desired behavior
(reading, eating healthy, et cetera) only when they expect to receive a reward?
For example, will they never learn to read for pure enjoyment?
— Did
your parents ever use bribes or rewards with you? Do they still? Did they use
sticker charts to encourage reading? Or cash to get you to clean your room? Did
the bribes work? Did they backfire? What advice would you give your parents on
how to motivate you to do what they think is best?
In my opinion I don’t think parents should bribe their children with anything. If parents do this all their life until their teenage years then that kid is going to become spoiled and mean. I say this because if the kid is going to wait until their parents give them something in order to do something they are asked to do then it will get worse when they get older. When they are little it will work because they don’t know really what is going on. Some kids don’t turn out spoiled from his but some do so i think it’s 50-50 that it can be a jump-start or encourage kids to make it a habit. Bribes most definitely will give the kid the wrong lesson. It will make the kid think in order to get things done that they need to get something first. When those kids get a job and start actually living life other people won’t let that slide. The kids won’t find it good or important to go the things their parents act, they just want to get it done so they can get what they went. My parents bribe me sometimes to do something but I don’t make it a huge thing. I’m fine with getting making out of it but i’ll take it serious and know they good and bad that come out of it. But when i was little i never got bribed or rewarded it was either do this or you’ll have to sit in your room for the whole night. Of course I picked sitting in my room because i didn’t want to do the things they wanted me to do. But since that happened and i grew up i realized the importance behind it and it helped me. I think my parents should give me their opinion but don’t say what i should do and it i don’t do it then i’m in trouble. I should just learn from myself what i did wrong or good.
ReplyDeleteNo my parents never bribe me or rewarded me to something I was supposed to do. They still do not reward me or bribe me. There was never a sticker chart to make me read .nor cash to clean my room. My parents told me to do something and I did it with no problem because I knew what they were telling me was for my own benefit. I never had to be paid to do something I should want to do. Cleaning your room shouldn't bother you if you are a girl . And reading is one of my favorite hobbies. My mom would tell me when I was young to read. She will make me read but she will always have these cool books that inform me and also made my imagination big. I listen to my mom I don't have to be bribe or rewarded at the long run I will be a good person that can read and be clean. I do thank my mom for making me read and clean and learn. That what I am told to do is important and be bribe to do something is not good for a child in a long run. If you bribe your child and have to make them do things they should already what to do they will be irresponsible and spoiled. A lot of my friends are that way. I remember when my friends would complain about cleaning and reading. They would have to get rewarded or bribe which bothered me . They were lazy that's why we're not friends anymore.
ReplyDeleteI was not bribe by my parents either it was a good thing because not everything gets you something. It sucks because some kids take it as a every time thing which is not so great. I agree that not everyone grew up with parents who bribe them things.
DeleteIn my own opinion I think it is OK to bribe your children sometimes like when it is for something really big. Sometimes they are effective on younger children but as you get older you start doing them on you're own with out needing to be bribed. Say you bribe a kid for extra screen time but first the kid will have to read three chapters of a book be for they can have the screen time I say that will be a fair bribe. I believe this jump-start or encourage has the capability to becoome a habit but it is the parents job to control whether you to do the bribing as a permanent thing. I think bribe also have the ability to be counterproductive because if the kid gets this mentality to be rewarded evertime they listen it could be a problem in the future. Bribing has the power to be taught the wrong lesson. For example you could bribe someone in to robbing a bank but as a result you could go to jail. They will be accustomed to that way when expecting a reward. I don't believe children will get the joy of reading with out a rweward for doing it. My parent use bribing for me but as I got older I learned it takes hard work in order to have a real rewards. No they do not still use bribing as a method to get something done. No they never used a sticker chart. No cash for cleaning the room but cash for mowimng the lawn but it was affair trade. Most of the time it worked. No rarely it back fired. Setting an example for you're kids.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Aliya,with those kids will end up being spoiled. I hate watching it you shouldn't have to bribe your child to do something responsible. That doesn't make sense at all, as a parent you should help your kid in the long run. Bribing them and spoiling then will just make it worse. It's good that your mom didn't do any of that and you aren't like those other kids.
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ReplyDeleteMy parent were different towards me no, they would not bribe me with things because they knew it wouldn't help me in the future. Bribing isn’t always the answer for every problem in my point of view because in no way does it help you out. My parents would make me do it but for the best of me to learn not to always be bribe. They would punish me if i did not do what they told me to for example not go outside or watch tv. That is a great way to teach your children, back then i didn't understand but now. It backfires on the people who do bribe their children since they start to abuse it or maybe not but think it is ok when it is not.There are different ways to teach us not always by bribing in my opinion. Once they grow up some develop the fact that it is ok when it's not. But every person has their own style of teaching their children in some cases they backfire and in others they don't. It can create an impact towards that child future because they been bribe to becomes spoil or a brat thinking it will always get something just to do something. This way is not always the answer but to show them no matter what they should follow the orders expect not to get anything back.
I agree with you. My parents would never bribe me, for the reason they had no leverage. There was a lesson when I didn't do something I was suppose to and it wasn't an easy lesson. Leaning the hard way and letting kids fall and pick themselves up is sometimes the best way
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ReplyDeletePersonally, I believe that this is a skilled used for younger kids but as long as it does not turn into a habit. I believe there is a grey area where this can make raising a respectable adult easier and making a spoiled mess. For example, when the matter is serious and somehow a little unfair to the child a little bibrary is not a sin. One the contrary, there are cases if constant the child will grow up with the feeling of entitlement. Sadly most likely if you think you are entitled to anything you are wrong. Life does not hand out lemons to everyone. If a child does not do their assignment despite of the constant badgering and nagging, sometimes a child must learn the hard way. There are no rewards for doing your laundry in the real world lets just say that.
I agree with you. There are no rewards to doing your laundry in the real world. There're no rewards in the real world unless you earn it. Bribery is not a form of earning. A child should learn to do what he has to do at a young age so when they grow up they are prepared for the real world so I agree with you Dakota.
DeleteParents should not bribe their children. It is a very bad thing for parents to do as it can lead to their child or children becoming spoiled and becoming very bad all around. It can lead to them thinking every time they do something for someone else that they deserve something in return or the kid will use doing stuff for someone else to his advantage to try and get something. You should never teach your children bribery at any point in their lives. The last thing you wanna bribe them with is money or toys because the ten dollars you offer them eventually turns into not being good enough for the kid and he is gonna want more and more. A toy will eventually turn into a gaming system or a new computer. Bribes are not an effective way to get them to read or eat healthier. Bribes are just to get the kid to do something you don’t wanna do because you’re too lazy to do it. Bribes absolutely teach the wrong lesson to kids. Like I said before, they expect more and more every time they get bribed and that will lead to a lot of bad habits for that child. My mom tries to bribe me all of the time and sometimes I will take the bribe but when I do it isn’t for a new game or anything like that. If anything it’s for me to go to one of my friends houses or something like that but it is very rarely for a new game or anything like that. I usually wait until my birthday or Christmas to get what I want. Otherwise I pay for it myself.
ReplyDeleteI agree with tony 100 percent. Parents shouldn't bribe their children because eventually they are going to want more. Bribery is never the answer to anything. If kids ever want a reward, they should wait for their birthday or Christmas.
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ReplyDeleteKenny figueroa
In my opinion, i dont think its right for parents to bribe their own kids for things they should do anyway. For example, parents shouldnt bribe them for cleaning their rooms, doing good on tests, eating vegetables, getting good grades and more. All these things i just listed are something they should do anyway. What lessons do kids learn from bribery. In the future when they get older, they are gonna expect a reward for everything they do. For example, in college, what happens when they are taking an exam, no ones gonna bribe them to do good on it. They will be so used to getting something that they probable wont even try one bit. I have this friend that gets paid money by his parents for each good grade he gets. He gets a certain amount for each letter grade. What does that teach them, nothing at all in my opinion. Im going to be honest, my parent use to bribe me when i was much younger but it didnt teach me anything. It only taught me how to rely on bribes and rewards for things i should be doing anyway. Like doing good in school, cleaning my room and so on. We need to relise that all those things we do are already rewards. There are other kids in the world that dont have it like us. They cant get an education, they dont have rooms while we do and we expect rewards? If i could give my parents advice, i would tell em to support me not bribe me.
In my opinion I don't think bribing your kids is a good way to motivate them. Of course a bribe will get any kid to do the thing you want them to do, but it is also letting them think that anything mom or dad want me to do i shoud get a reward. When a kid starts thinking like that they will always expect something for the good things they do and that is called spoiled. My parents have bribed me at some point but not constantly. I have not been bribed to do something in a long time my motivation now is do it or you're in trouble type of stuff. When they did bribe me of course it worked i'm sure i mooched a couple dollars and an hour extra added onto my bedtime when i was like 8. The thing i would like to be motivated with by my parents is like if you don't do this you're gonna grow up working at mcdonalds and will live in a dumpster if you don't get your act together. I don't know about you but i don't want to grow up like that so i will do whatever it was i was told to do within reason.
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