The use of praise and rewards in schools has received considerable media attention in the past two weeks. The effects of rewards and praise are not new and were the subject of Kohn's (1999) book, Punished by Rewards where he demonstrated that when children anticipate a reward for completing a task or achieving at a certain level, their performance drops, they lose interest in the task and are less creative. Not only have studies found that students' results on school assessments drop after being offered a reward for better marks, we risk changing our relationship with our son from that of a supporter to that of a judge.

With the recent media attention and the confusion that surrounds this debate, I thought it timely to offer some suggestions based on research for the effective use of rewards.

Make rewards more rewarding

• Make rewards a surprise. By offering a reward after the event you prevent your son from engaging in the task purely to get a reward. The most effective rewards and praise are those offered when they are least expected.
• Only offer rewards in areas where your son has little or no interest, for example washing dishes. The reward should only be used to initiate engagement before directing their attention to how it makes you feel to see them doing the task. Rewards do most harm when they are associated with an activity your son enjoys.
• Relate the type of reward to the task. For example, if you feel you must reward a child for reading, make the reward a book of your son's choice.
• Use rewards sparingly. The regular use of rewards in motivating children can lead them to expect praise or a prize for simply completing daily routines, behaving appropriately or doing well in an activity. They become conditioned to being rewarded, in turn leading to a false sense of entitlement. When the rewards are not offered in the future, children are left disappointed and lack perseverance and motivation generally.

• Interest and enjoyment are the greatest motivators. Direct your son's attention towards the pleasure they experience from completing a task, not the outcome or a possible reward. For example, statements like, "You looked like you were having fun out there", or, "It felt good to see you helping your friend with his study", together with questions such as "Did you enjoy the book?" not only heighten awareness of intrinsic motivation but also build your relationship as you show an interest in their feelings.

• Do not link the reward to a level of performance, for example, achieving a certain mark in an examination or being selected for a team. This heightens anxiety, lowers achievement and changes your relationship from supporter to judge.
• Never offer a reward when your son is doing the wrong thing - this is a bribe, not a reward. A boy who is offered a reward to behave quickly learns that by misbehaving they are likely to be offered more rewards in the future.

In short, a reward motivates your son to get a reward, not to perform the task. The task is simply the barrier to the reward. A 'do this to get that' approach will always have your son focussing on the 'that' not the 'this'.

Dr Rob McEwan

Head of Senior School