Paying Children to Read

I spent this morning updating and creating a new payment schedule for books in our teenage daughter’s written & unwritten reading list.

Long ago, in the 1970’s, a minister asked everyone present, “How many of you pay your children to read?” No hands went up, no affirmative acknowledgements were verbalized, no one responded. Again the man asked, “How many of you pay your children for household chores, like taking out the garbage?” Many hands rose. The next question was obvious, “So, you wish for your children to become… instead of scholars?”

An example list converted to USA dollar currency – if you like the concept and are considering implementation, adjust your prices to correspond to your budgetary and linguistic needs and personal desires.

Book Reading Compensation Amounts – Child’s Name

Books Parents give their child to read pay double

In order to get paid for books that parents provide

a 500 word minimum written or oral report (overview summary)

must be given for each book read.

Parents decide if report should be written or oral.

Books of child’s choice – not the books parents provide – the prices listed below:

                                                                                                       (Double pay if from us)

Classification              Word count                             With Oral Report       Without Report

Novel Long:                 over 70,001 words                              $7                                $2.50

Novel Short:                over 40,001 to 70,000 words               $5.50                           $2

Novella:                       20,501 to 40,000 words                       $4                                $1.50

Novelette:                   7,500 to 20,500 words                          $2 - $3                         $1

Short Story:                  5,000 to 7,500 words (only from us)    0-$1                             0 (zero $)

                                                                                               

Books of child’s choice only require oral reports to collect money for reading.

IF… a book is a ‘significant’ one and parents preapprove,

it will pay the same as if parents gave the book to the child…

…a written report may be required to get the double payment.

Not all preapproved books pay double!

ONLY books parents deem ‘significant’ may receive double payment.

Payment to be made at parents’ discretion – child must wait.

Note: Keep a list of book titles & authors – in case an ‘accidental’ double entry occurs over time.