Goals
Offering incentives to your child can help them achieve their goals. Often, knowing there is something to look forward to can help your child put forth some extra effort. Incentives can be offered in small steps, such as trading screen time for hours spent studying. Alternatively, one big incentive can be offered when an SAT goal score is achieved. Here are four creative ideas that can be offered as a big incentive.
1) Money
Don’t just offer to give your child cash. Instead offer to relieve them of a financial responsibility they usually have. You could pay for gas for the summer or offer them a gift card to their favorite store. You could get them an iTunes or Amazon gift card that they could look at while they study, but not use until after the exam.
2) An Experience
Offer to do something crazy with your child. Think about sky diving, surfing or playing at an open mic night with your child. Not only will you be rewarding your child, but you will be creating a memory together. Make sure this incentive is something you know your child will enjoy and they know moves you well beyond your comfort zone.
3) Chores
If your child is required to do specific chores around the house, you can let them have some time off. Offer them a specific amount of time of from all chores such as no chores for 2 weeks or a longer time off from one chore, such as no dishes for the whole summer. If you offer this incentive, make sure the whole family is on board. You don’t want other children feeling like they are picking up the slack. You can also make it clear that they will be offered a similar reward when it is their turn for the SAT.
4) Social Celebration
Offer your child an opportunity to do something with a group of friends. It could be a camping trip, a dinner out, or a trip to an amusement park. Let them pick the activity, and offer to take your child and a few of their friends. Your child will look forward to celebrating their hard work.
Be creative and find an incentive that you know will inspire your child and help them look forward to the days when the exam is over. Offering a fun incentive can be exciting for both you and your child and will help them work hard to achieve their SAT goals.
More About Mr. Test Prep’s Los Gatos SAT Test Prep Services
Michael Romano has been offering his Los Gatos SAT prep services for over two decades. He’s seen thousands of kids and helped with just about every kind of standardized testing anxiety a student could have. This has taught him that increased scores come down to confidence. Yes, you have to understand the material, but confidence is—more often than not—the #1 cause of a student’s trouble with testing. Bearing that in mind, he has created an SAT tutoring program that builds confidence by desensitizing his students to the conditions of the test, while providing them with targeted instruction on both the academic content of the exam and the tips and tricks that make it so much easier.
