Increasing Motivation Using Provocative Questions

Do you wish you could increase your children’s motivation to do homework, get ready for school on time or keep their room clean? Will the promise of a reward for practicing the piano help your child practice more? Or will the threat of punishment be more effective?

When you try to motivate your children to work harder, you often end up feeling frustrated by the results.

Understanding Internal Motivation

New research is teasing out some of the key elements around motivation. According to Daniel Pink's book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, trying to motivate children using external rewards and punishment is a mistake. The secret for motivating children to high performance lies in encouraging their own internal drive.

Pink describes three elements of true motivation:

  • Autonomy: the need to direct your own life
  • Mastery: the desire to make progress in your work
  • Purpose: the ability to positively impact yourself and the world

For example, if you want your child to practice the piano more, asking these questions might help.

(finish reading this article on PricelessParenting.com)


Pursing a Technology Career - Perfect for Girls!

I completed a degree from the University of Minnesota in Computer Science and Psychology in 1984. There were few women in my computer science classes - great opportunity to meet guys! At the time I worked in the pharmacy at Snyder Drugs. One of the pharmacists encouraged me to pursue a degree in math or computer science along with my psychology degree. I took her advice and double majored in four years.

What wonderful advice! I ended up in a job that paid well and provided for my family. It's now over 30 years later and I still find technology fascinating. Eventually I combined my interests along with a Masters in Education and founded Priceless Parenting. I used my tech background to create online parenting classes.

Encourage girls you know to go into technology. It's a great way get an awesome career that pays well! Computing Technology Industry Association has created this video exploring girls views about technology.





The Power of "Yet"

The word 'yet' can be incredibly powerful. If your child says, "I can't do this," add the word 'yet' to the en...