Discuss Should Parents Pay Children For Good Grades?

Should Parents Pay Children for Good Grades?
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The debate on money or pay for grades has been on for some time. Many parents tend to justify the reasons to pay their children with schooling being likened to working. To them, a school is a child’s workplace. Thus, learning has been transformed into a job. Nonetheless, I strongly disagree with such views. Hence, this paper aims to point out why parents should not pay their children for their performance at school.
The rewarding of children with money due to their academic performance is a great motivator. People work hard to earn a better pay at their workplace. Money is the motivator and incentive to labor. Similarly, cash for grades is one way of rewarding a child for good performance. As an adult works, so do a child works at the school. Unfortunately, this form of reward is extrinsically given. It motivates from the outside hence, is a short-lived motivator.1 Learning is a process that requires an intrinsic motivation factor. Psychologist depicts that internal desire is essential in kids to sustain their love for education and good performance. Additionally, the paid kids tend to feel eligible for a payout. Such perceptions lower their sense of responsibility and value for their learning.2
Payment for performance shifts the focus of education. Education exists to enlighten children, impart and impact their lives for future as they cognitively and physically develop. Focusing on the cash makes the value of education meaningless. The goal to learn diminishes as kids shift their focus to the price tag at the end of the term. The child grows knowing the price value of education and never the ultimate value of the knowledge acquired.3 Moreover, the desire to earn certain money to buy certain luxuries puts pressure on the child to attain the recommended grades. The pressure becomes a stressor in a child’s life. The pressure builds test anxiety leading to fa...