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The debate will go on as long as there are students and parents and an economy based on money. Should a child be rewarded with cash for making good grades?

As a child my grades were rewarded with cash and it made me understand the value of the dollar and to understand that everything has rewards. If you do well in anything then you will get a reward. Most schools reward children , in school, with different types of rewards. I remember my teacher would always give us a star at the end of the week if we were good in class. At the end of the semester the top ten students with the most stars were taken for ice cream. It gave us something to look forward to.

In todays society we are a Capitalist nation. The dollar rules all. I was also given an allowance as I grew older , but that was a negative effect on my life. When I was making good grades and getting cash , I felt as though I were earning something. I liked the fact that I could get money for free ... IE the allowance ... but I had lost that feeling of accomplishment.

Can you give too much cash as a reward? Yes, I believe you can. I was given just enough to let me know I had to earn good grades in each subject to actually afford anything meaningful. If a parent were to say to a child , "If you make two A's on your next report then Ill but you that new video game you want", you can almost rest assured he will bring exactly two A's home.

On the other hand, if the parent allocates a certain price for each grade it will show diversity and make the child work harder. For instance , I was given five dollars for each A , three dollars for each B and lost 3 dollars for each C and if I got ANY D's or F's I forfeit all of my money. We had six classes back in those days and so I could figure out that if I wanted to have a good amount of money then I needed to make at least 4 A's and 2 B's. I always made all A's. This method also let me know if I wanted something I had to calculate what grades I needed to get that item.

The debate will go forever ... but if you use it as a tool , giving cash can be a positive reinforcement to children and teens, too. You may come up with a method for each age range of child. Pre-teens will not need as much cash as a teen so you may have to calculate a different sum for a Grade School child, Middle School child and a High School child. Whichever method you choose stay the course.

You can also reward more money at the end of the term if you choose. For instance if the child has done a great job and made good grades but he is a few dollars short of what he wants to purchase , you may add some cash to the amount and say it was for good conduct, good attendance, etc. This is also good reinforcement and doesn't take away from the hard work that child showed to make the good grades.

Debate all you want but in the end, any solid, positive reinforcement cant hurt. As we grow older and our goals change we all need some positivity in our lives. We have all heard the saying "Money talks ....."

Learn more about this author, Ray Anderson.
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