“Since 4th grade, my parents have rewarded me for my good grades. This is also the case when I do the housework, when I look after my sister, I garden, I cook or I clean the car, ”says Eline, 14, now in third. Like her, many teens receive staggering rewards for completing certain missions or achieving goals set by their parents. According to a Pixpay * poll revealed by 20 minutes, parents pay their teens first when they do household chores (in 78% of cases), such as cleaning, cooking, gardening, DIY … They are also ready to put their hands in their pockets for financially reward good behavior (12%) or good grades (10%).
But they do not reward these missions in the same way. What pays teens the most are homework done or good grades (paid on average 18 euros), while good behavior earns them 6 euros on average or a household chore 5 euros. A carrot which is even bigger when it comes to exams, because the fact of passing the patent is on average rewarded by 40 euros and to get his bac by 65 euros.
“It is not advisable to set up this system before the child enters 6th”
Amounts paid punctually, but which end up constituting a small nest egg. “In general, I get 5 euros for housework and 15 euros when I look after my sister. This is in addition to my 10 euros of monthly pocket money and allows me to save money to buy things, ”explains Eline.
A practice which is far from rare, because a third of parents give money to their teenager for the accomplishment of certain tasks, according to a previous study by Pixpay **. And that must be limited, warns Laurence Peltier, psychologist: “It is not advisable to set up this system of remuneration for assignment before the child enters 6th year. And it should not be offered for just any mission. Certain tasks are part of collective life and must be carried out on a voluntary basis, such as tidying up his room, putting out the table, clearing… The adolescent must not feel that everything is a source of remuneration, that everything is owed to him ” . An opinion shared by Eline: “I’m not used to being paid for everything I do. Clearing the table or emptying the dishwasher is quite normal to do it without getting anything in return. “
“I do not recommend rewarding good grades”
According to Laurence Peltier, particular vigilance is required in the school field: “I advise against rewarding good grades, because the teenager must understand that he is working for him. And in the event of a bad mark, he will have the impression of receiving a double punishment. It can help reinforce a bad self-image. “
On the other hand, according to her, giving a little money to a child for the patent or the bac does not pose a problem. “Because this marks the end of a school period, we are not in the daily motivation”. According to Laurence Peltier, the tasks which can be remunerated “are the more exceptional ones, which one could have entrusted to an employee. Like tidying up the cellar, washing the windows, mowing the lawn. And parents need to provide a qualitative comment once the work is done. »A way of valuing the effort provided, apart from the purely pecuniary aspect.