Around our house, the leaves are just starting to turn from the greens and browns of summer to the yellows and reds of fall. The figs have all been picked, cherries are gone, and we’re getting to the end of the blackberries from the bush outside our living room window. It’s darker in the evenings and cooler in the mornings. The change in the air is unmistakable….

It’s Back-to-School time.

Today, I helped our kids get ready for school… registration, photos taken for school IDs, and meetings with teachers.

Besides the logistical parts of going back to school, how do you figure out the best role for you to take as a parent? How do you avoid over- or under-helping, especially with tweens and teens?

You want your kids to be self-motivated, to get their school work done, and to get good grades. You want your kids to succeed to the best of their ability.

But what if your child isn’t motivated to do schoolwork? How can you help your kids develop internal (intrinsic) motivation?

And should you offer a reward or an incentive?

What does the research say about “carrots and sticks”?

We asked Dr. William Stixrud and Ned Johnson, co-authors of the Self-Driven Child, about the effectiveness of rewards–their answer may surprise you–and we talked with them about how to help kids develop self-motivation.

Resources:

To find out more about their book The Self-Driven Child click here.