More money than sense

Smaller Son spotted that. He would. And he swiftly - and indignantly - worked out that if I'd been daft enough to go down that path, he could have gone half way round the world on the proceeds of his GCSE results last summer. Fat chance.

I used to be a great believer in incentives. Adults thrive on them so why not children? But it all went wrong with Senior Son.

Good marks or credits in school work always deserved a little treat and we're talking bars of chocolate or a trip to McDonalds here, not serious money - but when Senior Son's increasingly-slow school progress had eventually ground to a dead halt, I tried to prod him into action by dangling a more bankable bribe in front of him. He was so idle he was lucky if he managed to get one credit a term.

"A fiver for every credit," I rashly promised in blind desperation after yet another seriously grim Parents' Evening.

"Done," said he, his eyes lighting up at the thought of cash.

Unfortunately, at the same time, his well-meaning teachers also decided to give the lad some encouragement, so they started giving him credits for the merest, tiniest, slightest hint of effort.

So he got credits for actually getting his work in on time, credits for answering a question in class, credits for not annoying the girl next to him, credits for turning up in the right room at the right time with the right books, even if he never actually opened them on the right page. His student planner was awash with little stickers. It cost me a fortune.

And did his grades improve? They did not. In fact, quite the opposite. With all those fivers he had more money to go out and so spent even less time working.

So I gave up on that little scheme and instead contented myself with painting pictures of his bleak and blank future without any qualifications. But that didn't help much either.

Some children enjoy working and doing well. Others don't. How much you can transform the second into the first by financial inducement, I'm not sure. But if I were you I'd keep your wallet closed.

Anyway, it's not the results that count, really, is it? It's how much effort they've put into it. That's what you should really be rewarding. Which is why, long before we knew Smaller Son's results last year, we divvied up for Sky TV for him. The boy had worked hard, he deserved it.

Of course, it's also meant that for this year's exams he has the permanent distraction of all those TV channels to watch, but you can't have everything.

So if your child is doing exams now and has worked hard for them, then don't wait to see what the examiners think, give them a treat now.

Payment by results is fair enough, but payment for hard work is fairer still.

Published: 08/06/2001