MEET the mum who is paying her son to do well in his GCSE exams – with £100 up for grabs for every grade nine achieved.
Lynn Beattie, 47, came up with the idea more than 30 years ago, when she was just 16.
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After discovering her friends were being rewarded for their results, Lynn desperately wanted her parents to do the same – but they refused.
Since then, Lynn has vowed that if she ever had children of her own, she would do the same.
True to her word, she has set up a bonus scheme for her 16-year-old son, who is currently in the middle of his exams.
For every grade 3 (D/E to U) or lower, he will receive £0.
A 4 (C/D) will bring you £10, a 5 (C) £25, a 6 (B) £40, a 7 (A) £50, an 8 (A*) £75 and a grade 9 (A**) £100.
She estimates she will pay her son around £600 for 10 results, based on predicted grades. If he got top marks in everything he could have won £1,000.
Lynn’s strategy faced backlash from other parents who questioned her decision to reward outcome, not effort.
But mother-of-three Lynn defended her plan, arguing it “prepares him for adulthood” and says she “worked hard and earned enough” to reward her son.
Lynn, a personal finance expert from Knebworth, Hertfordshire, said: “It’s really polarized people’s opinions – some think it’s a great idea, others are really against it.
“I think it’s a precedent for adulthood.
“In my experience, when I’ve worked hard, I’ve been paid well – he’s 16 and I’m preparing him for adulthood by doing this.
“If he were a [grade] Kind of 3 and 4 year olds who weren’t doing well academically, so I would probably do something different.
“My children are all very different, so I can create different strategies for my other children.
“My middle child is not as academic, while the youngest is very academic.
“We as parents know our children best and decide the appropriate award strategy and I am free to do whatever I want for my child.
He is expected to receive around £500 – £600 from the anticipated results.
Lynn Beattie
“The 9 is almost impossible to get, hence the £100 for one.
“I had to work to get the grades I got and he plans to get more than me.”
To further defend her strategy, Lynn is encouraging her son to use the money to fund his summer plans while also setting aside some money for savings.
She said: “He’s about to take three months off from school.
“I would like him to get a job, but he doesn’t want one at the moment.
“So I kind of see that he needs that money for the summer.
My opinion as a mother
Michelle Harris, Fabulous Writer Intern and Mom of One, shares her thoughts on teens and financial incentives.
“In my experience, when I’ve worked hard, I’ve been paid well – he’s 16 and I’m preparing him for adulthood by doing this.” Lynn said in supporting his idea.
One of our many roles as parents is to prepare our children for adulthood. Our hope is that they are happy, healthy and find the path to financial independence.
As parents, we can’t help but take the long view, especially when our teenagers have a myopic approach to academics.
Preparing young adults for the job market
Society rewards based on merit and so paying your teenager according to their exam score is a reflection of how rewarding success can be; however, it is also a chilling reminder of how damaging this can be to someone’s self-esteem.
While monetary incentives can be seen as a positive reinforcement tool and can be motivating for our young adults, I think it would be wise to set limits.
As the mother in this story points out, every child is different. Therefore, if your child is not very academic, this reward system would run the risk of increasing feelings of shame and anxiety around exam performance.
Growing up is hard
The Sun’s survey of 1,000 teenagers revealed that 31 per cent have struggled with their mental health – feeling this way for an average of more than two years.
And 56 percent regularly feel anxious, with social media and the rising cost of living to blame.
Academics at University College London (UCL) also revealed a link between academic pressure during the school year and anxiety and depressive symptoms.
Find a careful balance
There is nothing wrong with surprising your child or rewarding him with money if you can afford it. But the minute that becomes an incentive, you could be in dangerous territory.
The hardest part of being a parent is giving up some control, but that’s the beauty of letting them become their own people and allowing them to take some responsibility for their own lives.
“I will encourage you to save some of this as it would be a great budgeting exercise.”
Lynn posted the idea on her Instagram finance page – Mrs Mummypennyuk – and comments questioning his decisions began to emerge.
One user said: “You should reward effort, not results.”
While another commented: “As a teacher I have to say I disagree with this reward system. Intrinsic motivation is essential in life, and rewarding results with money teaches students to expect tangible rewards for hard work—not always representative of the real world of work. “
And a third added: “I feel like it would be better to reward time spent studying/revising… less pressure, less shame.
But others came to Lynn’s defense, praising the idea.
One said: “I think this is great. My mother wasn’t well off, but she did something for me when I was at school.
A second posted: “This is literally exactly what my parents rules were for me and my sister except if you get below 7 you don’t make any money. Everyone I tell thinks sitting is absurd, but I think it’s just good motivation.”
And a third added: “My mom did this for me, it helped me a lot.”
In response to some of the criticism, Lynn agrees that effort should be rewarded, but says it can be difficult to measure.
She said: “I completely agree that you should reward effort, but how do you measure it?
“Does any parent know how much revision their children are doing? I would say no.
“I know that my son is trying very hard and he cares and wants these good results”
Others questioned Lynn’s decision to use money to motivate.
Money has always motivated me and my children are a product of me, so I know they are motivated by it too
Lynn Beattie
“There are a lot of jobs where you work hard and don’t get rewarded, but I think if you were the most amazing nurse in the world, for example, you would move up the ladder and make more and more money – is that it? no point proven?
“We have to face the reality of adulthood and we need money to survive.
“I really didn’t expect this to go viral the way it did! I’d like to look after my kids. Criticize me for working hard and earning enough to give my son £500 I guess!”
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
