To Bribe or Not to Bribe

Some would argue that bribery may work in the short term, but is seriously deficient as a means towards a long term goal.  I would be the first to agree.  There are, however, some exceptions.  I find that a little incentive can make the difference between a job partially done and a completed task; it can also serve as a kickstart.

As Fall threatened to turn quickly into Winter and the many, many leaves from our enormous trees still lay as they had fallen all over our lawn, I was in desperate need of some manpower.  My younger daughter had her eye on a special backpack made to carry her favourite doll.  I offered it to her if she helped me rake and bag the leaves.  She loves raking and set out joyously to earn her doll.  After the first hour, the joy of raking long gone, she started to work for her reward.  When the snow began to fall later that week, the leaves were all gone and my daughter had her backpack.

This past week, I have witnessed the second exception to the no-bribery rule.  We have offered each of our children $75 if they each read 50 books during the course of the 2011 calendar year.  While we are essentially paying them to read, payday is a long way off - December 31, 2011.  We are hoping that the time spent reading (and earning) will firmly establish the reading habit.  So far, so good.  Everyone is busy reading book 3, right on target. 

Furthermore, they have each discovered something exciting and wonderful about reading in the process.  My eldest (15) read the first book entirely for the 50 book challenge. He didn't love it, but he did persevere and finish it.  He read his second book in a matter of a couple of days, sometimes laughing out loud, sometimes reading us bits, sometimes telling us about the story.  He is now into The Princess Bride (saw the movie a couple of weeks ago) and eagerly looking forward to yet another fiction book.  For the kid who doesn't see the point of books that are not "real", he has discovered that he, too, can enjoy a good story.

My eldest daughter (13) has an interesting reading habit.  She gets so excited when she receives a new book!  She starts reading it right away.  Wonderful, fantastic, you are thinking, wish all the kids could be like that.  Yes, but she is usually already reading a book which then gets shelved in favour of the new one.  Bottomline:  she rarely finishes a book.  This challenge is forcing her to complete the books she begins.  So far, she has completed two and is fighting over The Princess Bride with her older brother while at the same time reading a Gilda Joyce mystery.  The Princess Bride, you see, can be read at night while Gilda Joyce, winner of some kind of Edgar Allan Poe award is strictly a daytime book.  Poor girl, she has her mother's crazy sensitivities.  Must say, though, that I can barely read Gida Joyce even in the daylight!  This beautiful daughter's lesson:  she can, indeed, complete an entire book!

My younger daughter who, even as a toddler and preschooler had little time for books - why read when you can run around and play with your dolls?  Remember the special backpack?  Well, she does read a bit more these days.  Her reading selections are usually short and easy books, not too many small words, not too many pages, and please do not leave out the artwork!  Every time, and there have been many such times, I suggest a more difficult book (even with the promise of reading it together), she inevitably turns it down.  She completed the first two books somewhat effortlessly.  As she was deciding what to read next, two things happened.  1) I found her a new book in my stash of Scholastic wonders; and 2) her English teacher assigned a major book report on a book of their choosing.  She was still hesitating over the book I had given her, it was too long, too big, too long...  I told her to start, assuring her that it was a very funny book and a quick read, action-packed and all that good stuff!  Ok, she said.  Well, she is now halfway through it and loving it.  She had originally thought it would take her a month to read!  She has discovered that, lo and behold, she is perfectly capable of reading a "bigger, longer" book!

Not so much news with my youngest reader.  He started back to school this week and had a long and trying week going to school at the crack of dawn, learning and working all day, coming home, having supper, valiantly trying to slog through his mountain of homework and dropping into bed.  That being said, he was assigned a book report which he got up early this morning (7:30!) to do before his soccer practice.  Nothing at all to do with our book challenge but we are very proud of him nonetheless.

Not a bad week of accomplishing shallow short-term goals through bribery:)  I do think that in the long run, the kids will come away with some great habits.  They are already seeing the beauty and benefits of reading.  A little healthy, and friendly, competition only strengthens character.

All told, we have read a combined 12 books so far in 2011.

Happy reading - let's make it fun!