Dad Pays Son For Reading Books And The Internet Debated About It

A dad shared his parenting experience with the internet, but he never imagined that it’d blow up and even cause people to split between agreeing and not. Well, there are always people judging and giving opinions, but David Woodland probably had not imagined that encouraging your kid to read would be that serious of a problem.

Who doesn’t want their child to enjoy reading? It’s one of the most mind-opening activities in the world. Even without higher education, reading can open so many possibilities.

So David paid his son to read books – and he meant actual, thick books, not just children’s books or comic books!

He even let him stay up late if he’s reading books! Imagine getting paid for reading; who wouldn’t want that?!

Association of American Publishers reported $1.19 billion in sales of children’s and young adult books for the sixth-month period from January to June 2020, a 7.5% increase over the 2019 period. The pandemic had posed problems for people who used to visit libraries and physical shops to get their copies.

But cheers! Books sales rose more than 8% in 2020, Publishers Weekly reported. Thanks to online sales and easy accessibility to get a physical copy, there was a 55.5% increase in education-related books. Even audiobooks experienced a similar surge at 15% in May 2020 compared to the same period in 2019.

Some users had doubts about the effectivity and long-term effect of this method. One mentioned the ‘Overjustification effect.’

The ‘overjustification effect’ is a real effect that researchers and psychologists research. It doesn’t just happen in children – it’s been researched on adults and animals alike. However, people don’t really have to be too concerned about the long-term effect.

According to this literature research, there is not enough proof to say that the detrimental effect is significant and permanent. Howard Garland, the author of the research, concluded, “These effects were temporary, with a gradual return to baseline over repeated extinction trials.”

Not to mention David Woodland just wanted to share a funny takeaway from losing $120 so his kid would read more.

We’re pretty sure it’s not a loss at all: at least this kid has read 120 books no matter what others say about it!