"Not all kids can self-learn."

This is one of the most common objections I hear from parents. I disagree. To me, it is all about the incentive system.

My wife and teachers struggle to get my son to do his homework. No amount of nagging works. When he did, he would just check all the first answers and submit.

With an incentive system, I got him to finish two grammar assessment books willingly during a holiday.

Some kids are born with self-drive. They do their own homework. Congratulations if you have such a kid.

But most kids are not; they just want to play.

So, the next piece of advice? Mix learning with play. If they enjoy it, they will do it.

This sounds good in theory. Based on neuroscience, you retain knowledge better from happy experiences.

But let’s face reality.

There’s a limit to how fun you can make learning. That’s why most learning apps that mix in games don’t work. The games become a distraction.

Managing kids is the same as managing adults. We need incentives, just like in the workplace. Passion can deliver great work. But passion with a low salary cannot retain your employees.

My boys like to play games. Which boys don’t? So, I used that as an incentive.

“If you finish this unit, you can play for 30 minutes.” But this alone doesn’t work; he will rush to finish.

I set rules:

You must show me your working. This ensures he demonstrates that he understands.
You must highlight the clues you used to get the answers. This is a technique to reduce his carelessness.
If you get it wrong, I give you another chance to correct it. Reflection is one of the most effective learning techniques based on neuroscience.
If you get it wrong again, you need to copy it twice. Repetition is another way of learning. This is also a deterrent to him rushing through.
If you come to me before finishing all the above, we delay your play time by 15 minutes. This trains him to be patient and really reflect. Without this, he would come to me for every correction.

With this, he can do his work for an hour without me sitting by his side. Not only that, sometimes, he will come to me: “Daddy, can I finish this unit and play a 30-minute game after that?”

You can try it:

Identify the right incentive as a reward.
Set clear rules on how to get the reward.

But a few important points:

You must set the right expectation. If the expectation is unrealistic, it won’t work. Employees quit when the reward is too low for the work.
You must reward good effort, not a lack of bad effort. There is no reward if he finishes school work, which is his responsibility. Rewarding him for finishing homework is a bribe. This encourages bad behavior.

Think the above is a lot of work?

Yes, I agree. We can be more efficient with tools that: