Good Report Cards
My son, Philip, recently received his final report card of the year. He finished first grade with all "O"s. O is for outstanding. Naturally, his mother and I were thrilled.
We reward Philip when he does well. I feel that positive reinforcement is a good thing and accomplishments need to be recognized. This time, we took him to "Toys R US", and let him get some stuff. "Ben 10" is a popular animated series and he picked up some of that along with some Pokemon items.
I told my son that I was very proud of him. I also let him know that if he got all "O"s next year in second grade, every quarter, that I would buy him a super duper reward prize. Anything, but all "O"s and the super duper prize wouldn't happen, but the quarterly rewards would still be awarded.
He was excited by the prospect and said,"What, XBOX 360 or Playstation 3"? I said, "Maybe", not wanting to give it away.
Truth be told, I'm really pulling for him, because I want the game console as much as he does. I'm pretty sure that Philip knows that also.
We reward Philip when he does well. I feel that positive reinforcement is a good thing and accomplishments need to be recognized. This time, we took him to "Toys R US", and let him get some stuff. "Ben 10" is a popular animated series and he picked up some of that along with some Pokemon items.
I told my son that I was very proud of him. I also let him know that if he got all "O"s next year in second grade, every quarter, that I would buy him a super duper reward prize. Anything, but all "O"s and the super duper prize wouldn't happen, but the quarterly rewards would still be awarded.
He was excited by the prospect and said,"What, XBOX 360 or Playstation 3"? I said, "Maybe", not wanting to give it away.
Truth be told, I'm really pulling for him, because I want the game console as much as he does. I'm pretty sure that Philip knows that also.
posted by Howard Bernstein, 9 Weather Now at
9:24 AM
2 Comments:
Hey Howie,
Kim and I got the girls a wii for the end of school, good report card reward. It is also a reward for me as another activity to play with them and to occupy their time. But are we going to far with these gifts at such a young age?
Instead of gifts, our kids love to eat out, so we each let them pick a place when report cards come out! This works for me, since we go out two times and they pick great places such as Longhorns Steakhouse or Panera Bread!! :) That satisfies the report card. But in other areas, it can be tough. Kids today see the world as very disposable -- if something breaks, you can just go out and buy it. (When I said to my kids, 11 and 7, I really would like the new Honda Odyssey, they said, just go out and get one! NOT!) Or just beacause we're in Target doesn't mean you can get a toy, Pokemon cards, etc. It's difficult because you want to give them everything. And there are the times you just give in, but for me giving in means I give in a lot and then there is no balance and they expect it (I've taken to warning them BEFORE we hit the store) But the best thing you can give them is your time (which we all strive to do with hectic schedules). Going on a family outing, hitting balls at the driving range, bike rides, washing the car or working in the yard together are some of the things we do. But I will still indulge them on occaision........it's a mom thing!
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