I am glad to see that Ms Jane Ng tried a myriad of methods to motivate her son to study, instead of forcing him to do so (A child's best motivation comes from within; Feb 27).

Every parent has his or her own way of motivating a child.

We should not write off using rewards and incentives to motivate children to study.

After all, aren't most of us motivated by the desire to do well in examinations so that we can get into a good school, earn more money and lead better lives?

Children may not understand the importance of presenting neat work or studying hard.

However, they do know what they want and what they must do to get it.

When I was in Primary One, I was promised $500 if I did well in school. This incentive spurred me to work hard for the next two years.

It is important to make children study hard, even if they do not realise the importance of doing so, so that they do not lose out on the starting line.

Li Anqi (Miss)