Every parent wants their child to succeed in life - and this starts with their school work. But one mum has left people divided after admitting to paying for her son's grades in an attempt to get him to work harder in class.
The woman explained how she rewards her son with £50 for A grades, £20 for Bs, and £5 for Cs. He does not earn any money for Ds and she fines him £50 for any pesky F's he recieves. She told Reddit : "I pay my kid for grades on his report card and it works. He went from Cs and Ds to As and Bs after I started paying him."
The mum claims her controversial tactic put a stop to arguments over homework and made her son think twice about taking "fake sick days".
"He never got a C, D, or F after I started paying him. No arguing over homework, and I didn't need to pay attention to his schooling at all, unless he asked for help," she added.
"If he asked to stay home from school, I knew he was really sick because he didn't want to miss school and get a bad grade.
"School isn't hard, it's just boring, a little incentive goes a long way. It worked very well for us.
"That may sound like a lot to pay, but he didn't get any other allowance, this was all the money he got all year except for Christmas and birthdays."
After hearing about her methods, Reddit users couldn't help but share their thoughts, with some in favour and others completely against the idea.
One user said: "My parents did the same when I was in high school and middle school, but your pay is much better than what I was offered. It still worked though. I wanted that money to spend on stuff in the shops."
Another user added: "The reason why it can be frowned upon is that for some children As aren't achievable.
"Many parents focus on top marks over seeing improvements and doing the best that that child can do without completely burning themselves out trying to achieve their parents' standards."
A third user said: "It's frowned upon because in life there isn’t always going to be an external motivator. You need to learn how to motivate yourself.
"Plus, unless they are working, earning good grades is sorta part of the deal. I was never paid for my good grades and I never thought I should have been.
"You're setting your kids up for disappointment in adulthood."
One more user said: "I'm conflicted about this. I was always told this is bad motivation and 'you should study for knowledge not pay', but on the other hand we don't expect people to work for free. Studying is work.
"It's an investment in their own skills that's going to pay off down the line (hopefully), so they shouldn't be paid for it, but for most kids this is such an abstract concept that it's hard to grasp."
Do you think this is a good motivator? Let us know in the comment section below.
