Does bribing work?

From time to time I am called upon to offer my opinion on items that come up in the news that relate to parenting, for The John Downs Show, an am radio show out of Toronto, Canada.  There was a story recently about a school in New Zealand that was offering incentives to try and motivate teenage boys to read.  If they read one book they were rewarded with a coke, three books they got a voucher for Subway and if they read twenty books, they were rewarded with a cell phone. 

In my opinion, too often we support a “What’s in it for me?” approach.  “If you take out the garbage, I’ll pay you $5 a week. If you get an A I’ll buy you a video game.” Now, “If you read twenty books, you’ll get a cell phone”.  In this case I’m curious if the objective is to get  boys to read a certain number of books or is it to instil a love of reading?  My own 19 year old son is not a reader and I shared this story with him.  “Great incentive!” was his reply.  I asked him once he finished reading twenty books was he likely to read more?  “I doubt it” he said.  Granted there will be a small percentage who will discover some great books and will continue to read.  My guess though is that the majority will complete the task, get their reward and that will be the end of it. 

One of the organizers of the program  in New Zealand admitted that it was indeed bribing but it was “working”.  Library borrowing was up significantly.  Bribing in the short term, is successful.  What though does it do in the long term?  What are we teaching and how does it contribute to intrinsic motivation?  In the case of reading, the greatest reward is the pure joy and satisfaction that comes from reading a book that inspires you, or makes you laugh or makes you cry.  That, by far is the most meaningful and long lasting reward.  Despite all the efforts of educators and parents, some children will become readers and others won’t. 

Do we want to teach children that the only reason to do something for someone, or for yourself is if you get something tangible in return?  When we live in community, everyone does their part because it’s the right thing to do.  A family is a community.  We pick up our own things and help in the kitchen because that’s what you do when you share a communal space with other people. 

 Parents always say that what they want most for their children is for them to be happy.  We all know happiness comes from within.  It’s not having a certain kind of car that will make you happy or owning the latest and greatest gadget that will make you happy.  It’s a state of being.  If we’ve trained them to work only towards the “reward”, once they get it, then what?  Is happiness, personal fulfillment and joy then put on hold until the next tangible reward?

Many parents have admitted to me that they bribe their kids but know it isn’t right.  They just don’t know what else to do.  Yes, in the short term it usually works very well but effective parenting has to take into consideration the long term consequences of our actions.  This may work now, but am I sending a message that I want my child to grow up with?  Will it serve him/her well in the future?