Report card day. Alex (my fifth-grader) always does well and I'm never exactly sure how to respond. I don't want him to feel, on the one hand, that I take his efforts for granted; I worry, on the other, about making too much of a fuss. Will he start to feel like I prize the As more than all the other good things about him? I said something along those lines to him after we had talked it over. He said, "I wish you'd make a little more of a fuss."
"Oh, yeah?"
"Yeah. Emmett's dad told him if he got all As he'd get--
[wait for it]
[I can't even believe this is true but Alex swears it's so]
--an iPhone."
Next to which, I suppose, a pat on the back and a brisk "well done" might seem rather minimalist.
No freaking way. That is CRAZY.
Posted by: Arwen | November 30, 2007 at 06:42 PM
Credit where credit is due, I say. If he has his act together enough to do well, a nice, celebratory dinner isn't out of place. The trouble comes when another child isn't so academically gifted.
A nice idea might be to take the family out for pizza to celebrate "everyone's hard work", regardless of how they did.
Posted by: Sarah | November 30, 2007 at 06:55 PM
I was always jealous of the other kids who got $1 per A earned. But an iPhone? You have GOT to be kidding me.
The times, they are a changin'.
Posted by: mary | November 30, 2007 at 07:33 PM
oh. my. Sad to say, I have seen this sort of thing among my daughter's classmates. And then we wonder why some 20somethings expect a corner office, $100K salary and expense account right out of school.
Posted by: KatieButler | December 01, 2007 at 07:56 AM
that's ridiculous- and totally normal around here. it makes us crazy, and gives us that many more reasons to move away before the pnut gets too big. although my parents were able to do it, so...
i think when i was little i wasn't promised anything for a good report card, but my parents always praised my efforts and made a big deal when i did well- more after-the-fact surprises (never cash or equivalent) so i never felt bribed- but that i had earned something nice (usually a family dinner out or activity) that i was being recognized for.
Posted by: pnuts mama | December 01, 2007 at 09:26 PM
My theory is that Emmett's dad knows his son really, really, well, and that there's no chance Emmett's going to get all A's.
Posted by: bearing | December 02, 2007 at 03:46 PM
Bingo, Erin.
Posted by: CJ | December 02, 2007 at 08:06 PM
Un-freaking-believable. But you should talk to my parents on this one, because (as much as it bugged me sometimes) I really think they had the right approach. Mom? Want to jump in here?
Posted by: Maggie | December 04, 2007 at 07:04 AM