If wishing, nagging, and begging aren’t motivating your child to challenge her intellect or build her talent this summer, how about sweetening the offer? No, we’re not endorsing a trip to the mall or a big-buck bribe. At least not your big bucks…

Contests for kids abound. Awards vary from cash and college scholarships to gift certificates and merchandise. Look around long enough and you’ll find a contest for just about every age and interest. The links below can get you started. Much to our amazement, we even ran across a kids Philosophy Slam.

We all know that learning is supposed to be its own reward, but sometimes a little incentive can go a long way. If your student enjoys photography, writing, math challenges, music composition, science experiments, poetry, technology, art, filmmaking, engineering, video game creation, or other academic and creative pursuits, encourage her to enter some contests this summer. You never know — she could be the next big winner, and possibly learn a thing or two along the way.

• Computer, fine arts, language arts, and math contests
• Contest and scholarship searchable database
• National Association of Student Councils contest list
• Academic and creative contests
• The ultimate guide to student contests database
• Writing contests
• Math contests
• Science contests
• Art & Writing awards
• Energy & renewable energy contests
• Philosophy Slam