Getting your child to *want* to do homework

WHAT’S GOING ON?

We all make calculations about the short- and long-term benefits and costs of the choices we make. Children, however, have a much less developed sense of the future, and thus short-term benefits – eg. the game they’re engrossed in – have even more weight than for adults.

So how can we strengthen their resolve to take on difficult topics and tasks, such as homework? One common practice is to offer rewards for desired behavior, such as school attendance or getting good grades. Unfortunately – given how widespread the use of rewards is – large amounts of research has shown that rewards do not work to build motivation for a task. In fact, they are counter productive. Study after study has shown that people become *less* motivated to do something after receiving a reward or incentive than they were before. (1) This applies to attendance, school work, acts of kindness... all the things that we want to encourage! When kids (and all people) receive rewards, they seem to conclude that they were doing the thing for the reward, and loose inherent motivation to do it. Paying for grades, giving treats for kind behavior, and even praise for eating eating vegetables, all serve to dis-incentivise the very behavior that we want!

So if rewards are not the way to encourage positive behavior, how can you guide your child to make responsible decisions and develop a good work ethic? The work of behavioral economist Dan Ariely points to some answers: acknowledgement of their work and effort, connection with other people, focus on the impact or meaning of what they do, and the inherent satisfaction of working hard. (2)