Getting your children away from screens can be difficult. But, it’s so important! See how this father is getting his son to read!
Father divides internet by getting his son to read a different way
A father has caused a huge divide on the internist after he admitted to paying his oldest child $1 for every book he reads. The books are 160-pages with chapters. Dad says he’s out $120 but is overjoyed and says it was his best investment ever, but the internet is in two minds about how this father is getting his son to read.
We all want our kids to read as literacy is one of the most valuable skills a child can have and will surely help further their education. Still, our children are all different and do not all share the same love of reading, so it takes some creativity and patience.
David came up with the idea for getting his son to read but did not expect the internet to go crazy and explains that he thought it was funny and wanted to share it with the world but mostly that he loves his son, who loves his brother and is doing very well in school and that one should worry because his son will be okay.[1]
Not everyone agrees with how David is getting his son to read
David Woodland tweeted about getting his son to read and has since gone viral with 500,000 likes and many more comments. With one tweet saying, “Artificial incentives. This kills the joy of learning, making it transactional, please teach the joy of learning instead.”
Another added; “Be careful attaching financial incentive to something you want to be done out of instinctive motivation – when the incentive disappears, the behavior is likely to as well.”
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While some think his method is great!
Others are on board with David’s methods, with one comment saying, “I think it instills great habits in the child. The negative nellies are always looking to slam something they don’t agree with”.
Other comments were added in support, saying, “What’s important is that Dad values books and reading, and this is the message that he is passing on to his son. Meanwhile, his son is devouring books, why quibble? It sounds like this kid has plenty of instinctive motivation to read, or he wouldn’t have chomped through 120 books”. One comment also read, “Imagine being paid by your parents for any of your accomplishments.”
David also allows his son to stay up late, but under one condition, he must be reading, and while the internet is losing their collective minds about getting his son to read. David says that it was his wife’s idea and that he loved it and ran with it; he also said that we could keep paying his son every time he reads a book.
He also says that he is extremely proud of his son and his progress. But many are worried that once the money stops coming in, the reading will stop. David assures that as long as he keeps reading, he’ll keep getting paid. David also has some fans and say that his idea for getting his son to read is genius and “reading is reading” and that one day he’ll start reading for the joy of reading, not because he’s getting paid.
Some parents have even tried it themselves and have added onto it; one mother said she has a board on the wall where her children write the name of the book they are reading, and if they need help with it and upon completion, they get paid.[2]
This method is nothing new
Some parents have tried a similar technique for getting their children to rea. What they have found is probably unexpected! Eventually, these kids found a love for reading and would finish about 60 books per year! Others have turned it into a game. The key is to explain to your child that this does not happen in the outside world. Then, of course, not expect payment whenever they do something good. It does, however, teach them that hard work will be rewarded. And that the incentive may not always be money but to work hard anyway.
David ends off his tweet by saying his child will be fine. Getting his son to read has been the greatest investment of his life, even if he is getting ripped off!
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Sources:
- “Dad Pays Son To Read Books & The Internet Is Divided.” Moms. Jennifer Passmore. August 26, 2020.
- “Dad divides opinion after revealing that he pays his son to read books.” Heart. July 24, 2020.