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What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making Life Better, with Two Funny Moms

What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making Life Better, with Two Funny Moms

Fresh Take: Dr. Özgür Bolat on the Real Science of Motivating Kids

Aug 14, 2026 · 33m

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We think of rewarding kids as a surefire way to get the behavior we want. But what if rewards mainly serve to underline our children's intrinsic drive to succeed? Dr. Özgür Bolat, education scientist and author of The Reward Trap: Why Rewards Backfire and the Real Science for Motivating Kids, explains why rewarding kids may actually undermine their motivation in the long run. As Dr. Bolat explains, there's a difference between motivation and compliance. Rewards can get children to do something, but they don't necessarily create the ownership, engagement, or intrinsic motivation parents actually want. In this episode, we discuss: How rewards can change the way children view an activity…