Maybe you need to up your "game" so to speak. Offer to take him somewhere fun if he performs well
The stick or the carrot? What works best?
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Carrot or stick? Have you tried beating him with the carrot?
Maybe he does not care for chess as much as you want him to.
Carrot is better - especially for a game like chess. Just make sure that you are not trying to live your chess dreams through your son. If he really is great at chess for his age, then the only way to keep that work ethic is to keep the fun/enjoyment of the game of chess for them. No matter what you do, they will not perform optimally if they do not want to play.
David Bronstein said, "Chess is imagination." and
Bobby Fischer claimed, "You can only get good at chess if you love the game."
I feel like I've seen this topic a few times, pretty sure it's copy paste nonsense.
with my 11 year old, i threaten to burn him if he doesn't win his section. i don't say where, exactly, so i think that scare tactic works at instilling a healthy work ethic.
well, it did until he lost.
AlCzervik wrote:
with my 11 year old, i threaten to burn him if he doesn't win his section. i don't say where, exactly, so i think that scare tactic works at instilling a healthy work ethic.
well, it did until he lost.
I didn't think I'd ever say this but: I hope you are trolling.
Sometimes you can blame it on Poe's law, but sometimes this kind of question is just stupid 
ding ding ding!
what do we have for him, johnny?
You may have over estimated you child's potential. Even if he's closing in at master level, at age 10, there is still a slim chance that he'd attain the GM level. He may know more about his potential than you do.
Required viewing -- watch the movie "Five Easy Pieces." Jack Nicholson plays the estranged on of a musical family, where his father had raised him to be a musical prodigy on piano. But, even as a youth, Nicholson always understood the limits of his talent -- that he was faking it by mastering "five easy pieces." The movie is a masterpiece, by the way, and provides great insight.
TakeThisPawn wrote:
My son (11yo) is somewhat of a prodigy. Not world champion material but definitely has GM potential. He works hard with his coach (FM) but at home can be quite lazy with his studies. What I've found is that under 10 we used to be able to motivate him at school tournaments etc with the promise of ice cream or a new toy etc if he performed well.
Now he's maturing the only way that seems to work to get him to focus on his chess studies is to threaten him with grounding or the removal of his games console (which I've only had to do once) if he doesn't perform well. It's frustrating because I'd rather reward him for doing well but it doesn't seem to be working anymore.
Why ask him to study chess if he doesnt like it?
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Nylonsock wrote:
I see the two forum cronies are at it again , dishing out their ridiculous contributions to this thread . They should realise that a more understanding comment is required.
The only reason OPs like this exist in the first place is because people like you are too dumb to know his very simple shtick.
Take a look at another of his wonderful topics, for example
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/erm-what-did-my-coach-just-say
Just don't think about it too hard, I know it gives you headaches.
Meanwhile to real topics I give real answers
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/so-far-all-i-am-doing-is-guessing
So maybe stick to posting emojis with the kiddies in off topic.
Carrot or Stick? When were you born OP? Offer him an iPhone 11 pro if he increase his Federation ratings by 150 points.
My son (11yo) is somewhat of a prodigy. Not world champion material but definitely has GM potential. He works hard with his coach (FM) but at home can be quite lazy with his studies. What I've found is that under 10 we used to be able to motivate him at school tournaments etc with the promise of ice cream or a new toy etc if he performed well.
Now he's maturing the only way that seems to work to get him to focus on his chess studies is to threaten him with grounding or the removal of his games console (which I've only had to do once) if he doesn't perform well. It's frustrating because I'd rather reward him for doing well but it doesn't seem to be working anymore.