If you reward kids good report cards....

[FINFAN]

Report card day is tomorrow so I'm off to the Disney Store to get DD as their reward for all the hard work!Hope I'm not jinxing good grades!

 

[Meagansmom]

We reward for a good job in school. I also have a daughter graduating from Kindergarten and we got her some DD. She did a remarkable job this year. I think it is a challenge for them to get the good grades. We grew up as kids getting $5.00 for an A, $3.00 for a B, we didn't get anything for the rest. It made us work harder.

 

[CarolynNC]

I don't call it that! My son's job is going to school. The better he does, the higher his salary. We have an entire system which includes taxes (saving), bill paying, and sometimes a bonus. You can really have fun with this and teach them money management at the same time.

Carolyn

 

[Mercy]

CarolynNC... I like your idea, the whole job thing! Could you email me with the details? Thanks!

MercyMyGft@aol.com

 

[Katie]

hey mee to..I have a 15 yr old who needs some "urging" terribly!

clreed@fgi.net

 

[luvtogo12]

Carolyn,
I think that is a great idea. My kid's could certainly use some lessons in money managemnt. Can you post the details here? I am sure a lot of folks would be interested.

 

[dznynut]

My DS (5th grade - Catholic school) has received straight A's all year (like he did last year - can you tell I'm proud!). His reward is a "mom and me" trip to WDW this July. Dad and the dog are staying home. Dad let the cat out of the bag about the trip (I was going to surprise him on the last day of school which is report card day), but DS doesn't know I got him the new Bon Jovi CD (which he has been bugging me like crazy to get) and $100 Disney dollars for the trip! He gets his report card tomorrow, so I can't wait to give him the rest of his rewards. Man, does he have a cool mom or what?!

 

[imgoingtodisney]

Son has been receiving $5 in Disney dollars for each report card since we began planning our trip in Jan. Also $5 in Chuckees money for report card.
He has been getting Disney dollars from tooth fairy, easter bunny, birthday, valentines day, etc.
Husband will be getting for fathers day, valentines day, easter, and his birthday.

 

[Mskanga]

I do not give my DD anything for good grades, IMHO that is her job to do , yes we sure tell her what a great job she did and we do things with her but we do not tell her why we are doing it , we do not want this to become a habit and then what happens if just once you can't afford to do it? I have seen a lot of kids who get dissapointed if they don't get what they expect.

 

[Disneydenise]

I can see your point Mskanga. My chidren have been blessed with good parents and good brains. I do give my children rewards for their grades but I make it something that I would have gotten them anyway. Just maybe alittle sooner. I have been having a tough year with my 15 YO son. He is a freshmen and he has actually never had to study at all. I knew it would hit eventually and he is the type of person who has to learn everything the hard way. His sister is older (18 mons.) and she has had to study since first grade. Well this is her Junior year. It has been difficult but she has done great. I think that it has been difficult for my son to see her acheiving these goals. I am not big on punishment and I have been trying to work on getting him to see that he isn't going to like going to BCC. We live in a fairly affleuent area and of course everyone has a super kid. I don't want my kids to think that things are going to make them happy, they are nice to have but you feel alot better about achieving your goals when you do the hard work. We are going to DW this summer again and it is my reward for me. I have had one heck of a parenting year and my kids are good. I don't know what I would do if I had to make sure they weren't drinking and doing drugs on top of this. I'll let you all know how Dan makes out on his report card in July. What ever happens this has been harder on his father and I than it could ever have been on him. It is hard to see your intelligent kid make these unbelievably dumb choices. I do think that if he sees that C's just don't get you where you want to be he will wake up. I can only hope. Sorry this is so long. I just think that this has been tough for me an I am hoping I have him turning the corner. Back on topic I think that rewards might have worked on him he is more mercenary than his sister. My son was a straight A student until 8th grade and then he only got a few B's in honors courses. I will say he isa challeging student for his teachers. They all like him and it has driven them nuts trying to motivate him too. Misery likes company.

 

[Praise2Him]

I was never paid for grades and never paid my children until last year. Out of desperation we came up with a system that works for us. They get $2 for an "A", $1 for a "B", nothing for a "C". If they get a "D" they pay us $1 and an "F" they pay us $2. So they add up all their "A's & B's", subtract all the "D's & F's" and that's what they get.

 

[RLM]

are in the receiving of the excellent grades. My DD has been on the Honor Roll at her Jr. High every quarter.As a reward from the school,they have a breakfast for the Honor Roll kids and parents at the end of every quarter. This is a big deal for us all,I am so proud of her,and she knows it,we let her know in no uncertain terms that we are. We taught her to feel good about her work,and her sucesses, this, I feel is the true reward.

 

[friskylady]

Our two youngest motivate themselves. We have never bothered them or nagged them to do homework. They are responsible for their own work! And so they do not get paid by us for grades. Their payment is from their teachers! High grades for their best efforts.

But we do celebrate their achievements. And it doesn't have to be a straight A report card. We celebrate almost ALL their report cards! Especially if they have brought up a grade. Usually we go out to dinner as a family, the kid picks the restaurant. But we have designated some Disney trips as celebration trips.

One Easter we received a water view upgrade at YC and I'm sure it was because I told room controller that we were celebrating our kids' good grades!

 

[CarolynNC]

Years ago I saw a talk show featuring people who wrote books on allowances for children. One of the featured guests was the author(s) of a book "Money Doesn't Grow On Trees" (or something to that effect - I loaned the book)! I bought the book and it was the basis of my money management tools although my system has evolved and changed over the years. It's been so long since I read the book I'm not sure how near I am to their system. I want my son to learn how to manage money and understand his upcoming adult responsibilities. I don't want him to hit college and be flooded with these credit card offers and run up $10000 worth of debt because he doesn't know what he's doing.

I have a job. I get paid for that job. How well I do my job is the basis for my paycheck. If I work hard, I'm rewarded. I pay taxes to support government programs & services. These taxes come out of my check. I pay bills, save for retirement, contribute to charity, and put money in savings.

I established a like system for my son. His job is school and chores. He gets paid $ for his performance. There are set amounts for different grades & chores. If he lays out of work (doesn't do chores) he doesn't get his salary for the chores. He gets paid for good grades but he also pays a tax on bad grades. Excellent grades on major projects might mean a bonus (depends on the company's -my- budget). He also pays taxes (for services - minimal amount - he just needs to understand the point), must save a portion, but is allowed to decide if he wants to contribute to charity. The taxes are kept in a fund for times when he wants a special service. This helps pay for them (ex: gas for trip to visit out of town friends). He decides what to do with his net pay.

One other thing we do is sit down together to pay bills. I think all members of a family need to know where the money goes. We discuss my credit cards, any balances and repayment plans. He must understand the credit card is not an unending fountain of $$$$. It must be repaid. When we plan vacations, we discuss all the expenditures against our vacation fund. We decide what we will do and what we can afford. This time our fund didn't have enough for an on-sight stay, therefore we used Priceline ($35/night) for our 10 day stay.

Hope this is helpful. I think everyone has to decide what works best for their family. This works for me and gives me the chance to prepare my son with real hands-on skill building. Even if it doesn't work and he runs up debt I'll have tried. No one prepared me for finances in the real world and I struggled trying to learn these lessons.

If I can find the book, I'll post the correct title and authors in case anyone is interested. I think I remember a tree on the cover and it was paperback.

Carolyn

 

[FINFAN]

Well my DD has put in an average of 3 hours per night on homework this year and has made some pretty tough sacrifices to do so well in school. Her teacher would make ANY disney villian look like SNOW WHITE! Any teacher who tells a class that they are second class citizens and worthless can break the spirt of ANY student . I am so proud of our DD for hanging in there and being the adult in her student/teacher relationship I would give her the world. She has never expected a payment for her school efforts which is why treating her to one is all the more fun.She's goin' to Disney World!!!!!

 

[sherry7]

I've always gave my son money for good report cards. He gets $4 for an A, $3 for a B, $1 for a C. We have an agreement that if he gets a D or F he forfeits everything, but so far this has never happened. He just finished the 4th grade today, and has been on the honor roll for 3 straight years now. He does understand that school is his "job" but the extra cash is a nice treat for him. He's a great kid, and he deserves it. In fact, I'm beginning to think that I should give him a little more for A's and B's.

 

[dizzy4disney]

We also reward for good report cards and for good efforts. We recognize that the letter grades don't always show the effort our child has made. This year our DD (5th Grade) had a particularly hard time adjusting to a new math concept in a new school (we'd recently moved to another state). She had always earned all A's until she went through this transition. We applauded her effort and the B she earned. We treat our kids to a restaurant of their choice and make it a family affair. I have recently started a 'reward' incentive ofdisney dollars for chores that they complete in preparation for our September trip. Most chores have a value of .50. We keep track of their completed chores on a daily basis, and on Friday, they get 'paid'. I would like to know more about your system Carolyn. It sounds like a great idea to teach the kids money management.

 

[sablair]

I guess we are strict parents! We have never rewarded our kids monetarily for grades at all and had a fit when the grandparents wanted to. We celebrate their achievements with praise and are very proud of them I guess I have always thought its their responsibility to approach life to be the best they can be... to work hard at school so they can fulfill their dreams. I tell them their education is a privilege and that right now they are dirt poor..haha.. but someday they will make the bucks if they work hard! It has worked with my 15 yr old.. he is a straight A student and has earned an apprenticeship into a science and engineering program working this summer.. he made this choice on his own and will finally be earning money to manage! Im looking forward to helping him learn to manage his money, set up his bank acct etc. My first grader works hard in school too and is always proud of her work. My DS is reading these posts and going whoooaa.. money for grades! haha He seems to take it pretty well that we are trying to raise them to not base their lives on $$$ and what they have. I told him some things you just do because you should.. because it's the right way to live your life and not because you are looking for a payoff. Although we do give them more than they really need, we dont attach it to school work or household responsibilities and we make it a habit to say no often.... just so they can deal with having to tell themselves no when they are starting out and cant afford everything they want.

The oldest says we spoil the younger ones.. he's probably right.. we are turning into mushes and do give in more as time goes by. But then, he had a cousin his age that was SO SPOILED!!! and threw a fit every time he didnt get his way... we made it a point with him to not turn him into a monster. He just said a few minutes ago that we should do the same with the younger two cause he didnt turn out so bad.... geesh...lol....
wonder what we can do to tone down his teenage ego

Do you think that book Money Doesnt Grow on trees would be good for my 15 year old? Im not sure how to help him manage his money when he really doesnt have bills to pay...

sheila

 

[Debbie]

We used a similar system when my kids were early in their learning about money stage. 5 kids and banks all over the place.

The difference was that the tax fund actually was a choice of 2 pots. 1) Tax money that went for a rented movie or a pizza etc. and 2) the Disney fund. Sometimes the kids would put all of their taxes in 1 pot, sometimes they would split. It was an individual choice.

Also, charity was not an option. They had to put so much to others. We used a % type of breakdown. 12.5% for charity, 12.5% for taxes, 37.5% for shortterm (spend as you will, save for gifts etc.) and 37.5% for longterm (savings for college, or the Disney trip). My kids originally saved for 5 years, and then 4 years, and then 3 years, and . . . for the Disney trips.

A second thing (went into the Disney fund) that I did was buy bulk chips, popsicles, pop etc. The kids then bought off of me instead of the local variety store. Also, any birthday/Christmas type gifts that I bought on sale went into Mom's Store and the kids would buy (again) from me, rather than at the discount store.

As far as grades, we celebrate but don't reward high grades. We have a saying at our house. . .The better you LEARN the more you EARN!

 

[DeDixie]

We don't "pay" for grades - although I think some of the ideas to do so are great. We reward with a gift when we think it has been a rough marking period or an especially hard one. Last year we did it after the third marking period, it just seemed like a good time - dd's had worked hard and I felt a little surprise was in order. We were at the mall, as a family ( very unusual ) and my DH and I decided they could each spend $20.

When they come home with their report cards ( always A's and B's ) we make a big deal with saying how proud we are , and how proud they should be. We usually then say we will get a treat to celebrate ( ice cream, Krispy Kreme, etc) - we usually DO something to celebrate.

This year we are going to WDW in August, so I booked the Wonderland Tea party for them -- I will tell them on the last day of school. I can't wait to Thursday !!