Letters to the Editor: It’s OK to pay kids for good grades. Just know when to stop

To the editor: To columnist Robin Abcarian, who worries about paying the niece she’s raising for good grades, I say this — you’re a good parent! Rewarding a child to “jump-start” her is a technique backed by research.

What’s important is to withdraw the reward as soon as a child shows some interest in the learning you’re encouraging. Chances are good that as she builds her competence and confidence, she’ll start enjoying math, and you can forget the reward.

Other tips: Keep the “jump-start” reward small. Help your child connect math to her own experiences, and show your own enthusiasm for the subject.

Rewards aren’t verboten — just use them wisely.

Kathy Seal, Santa Monica

The writer is co-author of the book, “Motivated Minds: Raising Children to Love Learning.”

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To the editor: I was a social worker in one of the regional centers in the 1970s. It was at the beginning of the behavior modification era.

One of my favorite stories has to do with a child who was also having trouble with math-related work, although his work in other subjects was excellent. Testing had shown he had the ability, he just wasn’t as interested in or motivated to do math.

His parents and I, in trying to devise some way to motivate him to work harder at it, hit upon this: His “reward” for doing his math homework would be to allow him to read whatever novel he wanted for an hour.

It worked. His math grades went up, and his love of literature was enhanced — a win-win situation.

John Snyder, Newbury Park