The Sweetness of Learning

My husband and I have been "rewarding" (that is, bribing!) our daughters with chocolate chips to get them read - to get my older one to read in Hebrew (she needs no reward to read in English and was horrified to read recently of a girl who read "only" 3 books a week!) and to get my younger one to read in English.  I'd been feeling a little guilty about this practice, as it conflicts with my principle that learning should be its own reward.  But principles and reality are often at odds, especially when it comes to parenting.  Then I remembered the ancient Jewish tradition of dabbing some honey on the alef-bet - the alphabet - when a child first starts to learn his (back then it was always his) letters - so he would know that learning is sweet.  And I felt better.