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NGL780309
In my opinion, bribes and rewards are really one in the same. Over time, whatever you are bribing or rewarding for loses it's intrinsic value. Used very sparingly they can be effective, but usually it is a slippery slope to more and more. You end up with people that can't do anything without expecting something in return. Yuck. I can't say I have never rewarded my kid with something, but it has been very infrequent and never discussed beforehand. Surprise rewards are good. And if you do it every time, it is no longer a surprise.
My kid gets a lot from gymnastics and she needs to learn to be happy with that. She is also very lucky to get to DO gymnastics so I make sure she realizes that, too.
I'm going to disagree with you a bit that it becomes a slippery slope where people can't do anything without expecting something in return.
When my DD had just started gymnastics she had lots of problems with standing in line and waiting and paying attention. I used many incentives to improve this behavior. The behavior became habit and the incentives disappeared. She was 4 years old at this time I'm speaking of. By 5 there was rarely a problem and by 6, never a problem. She has not had a single 4 hour practice in the past 6-8 months where this was ever a problem. So encouraging her to behave and work hard with little treats didn't affect her ability to grow and function without any outside incentive. It helped her focus on positive behaviors until they became a habit. My DD might not be the best gymnast in the world, but I hear nothing but amazement from her coaches about how focused she is for a 6 year old. They are truly blown away by how mature she is, how hard she works and how well she listens and takes corrections.
My point is that young children often need incentives to perform desired behaviors. Now if my DD were older and I was having to "encourage" her to focus and behave at practice and work hard, I wouldn't feel the same way. At that point I would feel like she didn't want to be there and it wasn't the activity for her.
I don't feel like kids should be rewarded for meets or scores. If a kid needs money to try hard at a meet, why are they there? I agree with that 100%.