Be Careful, Consistently Giving Gifts To Children Can Be A Trap

JAKARTA Giving rewards or gifts to children can be a trap if it doesn't match the portion, says a child psychologist.

Everyone, especially children, will be happy when they get a gift. The concept of giving this gift is usually done by parents as an appreciation after the child works hard, for example after helping to complete his homework or even becoming a regular thing after getting good grades at school at the end of the school year.

The prizes given can be from the cheapest things such as ice cream, food you like, to toys or items you want.

However, psychologist Erika Patall said gift giving does not necessarily foster feelings of wanting to learn. In the long term, children are in danger of losing their enthusiasm to try because there are no more prizes.

Towards the end of the school year, usually parents have prepared gifts for their children, especially for those who get good grades after one year of studying.

This gift is also not only given by parents to children, but teachers for students in class. Starting from stamps, stickers,conies, or even more playing time can also be a lure of gifts from the teachers after students do their job properly.

However, Erika Patall, a professor in education and psychology at the University of Southern California, said that this gift giving scheme does not foster feelings of wanting to learn from children. Because when there are no more gifts, the spirit of trying is lost.

"It's really a long debate. The answer is not that simple," said Patall.

"The bottom line is, an effective award for keeping students on duty, if that's your only goal," he added.

Awards or gifts, according to Patall, will not foster a love for learning or have long-term effects on student behavior.

"Once the award is lost, student involvement disappears," he said.

In fact, introducing awards can actually reduce students' motivation itself. Students may feel that the only reason they work hard on a task is because they are trying to get the award, even if they really enjoy what they do.

For this reason, Patall said, teachers should be careful so that students are not manipulated to complete tasks. Teachers need to think about how students interpret the gifts they use," he said.

Stickers, candy, parties: students will certainly try to get these things, but that means the quality of their learning is either or they understand the value of the task.

Instead of offering gifts, Patall suggested that teachers look for other ways that are not tied to objects to keep students focused on their duties.

"Instead of relying on gifts to get people involved, I will encourage teachers to make lessons and activities that take advantage of students' interests, values and goals that already exist, and connect whatever they do with the internal motivation students already have," he asserted.

"That will be involvement and learning with the highest quality," Patall said again.

But there is something different for Lozetta Hayden, a sixth grade teacher at the Guddingwas Middle School in New Castle. Hayden collaborated on this reward as a way of teaching finances to his students. In other words, the appreciation he gives as well as teaching children the skills of mathematics and making them more empowered.

He made a toy money called 'dollar Hayden'. This money can be obtained by students based on their efforts in learning and how they behave in class.

"They compete with themselves, not others," said Hayden, adding that students in the lower class had the same opportunity to earn money with students at the top level.

The money they get, continued Hayden, can later be used in 'class shops' that sell various school needs such as pencils, books, rulers, or even low- sugar snacks.

Most of the goods sold are donations from various communities, so it's no wonder that some of them have been used but are still in good condition.

In addition, Hayden's adult son also took part in this concept. The trick, students can take cooking classes from their puti or saxophone classes from their son, using the Hayden dollar.

Students also often use this toy money to give gifts to birthday family members.

"They can't use real dollars. It's really made up of them, and it's a matter of pride," said Hayden.

Students can also provide a class experience with the Hayden dollar. During school break hours, there are some free activities students can choose from, but they can also spend some of Hayden's money on the occasion of using aPlayStation class or desk hockey.

Class economy can also be a great balancer, said Hayden. When parents can't afford school supplies, students can pay for it on their own with Hayden's money. Hayden is also willing to accept class money to cover some of the field trip fees or field visits if his parents are unable to pay the full fee.

This gives children a sense of belonging. It gives them the ability to control what they want to control. They feel more empowered," said Hayden.

Not only used as a gift, but the Hayden dollar can also be used to pay fines or penalties in class. For example, Hayden gives a fine of 500 dollars every time they say harsh words. He said, this taught them responsibility.

This system is also believed by Hayden to teach children math skills. Because in classroom transactions, Hayden often asks about the refund or how much money is left after they spend money. Sometimes even he will make a "price adjustment" in classroom stores as an introduction to the supply and demand or inflation scheme.

"This really helps them connect with money they don't have in real life because now everything is digital," he said.

Hayden believes that a reward in class with an economic concept like this will not interfere with the motivation or love of his students for learning.