Reward Ideas for Children

Activities with Mom and Dad

• Instead of rewarding well-behaved children with physical objects, reward them with extra time with you. Preschool and young elementary-school children especially value time with Mom and Dad, while older children might appreciate an excursion alone with one parent for a special activity. For example, a 10-year-old might enjoy a "girls' day out" manicure excursion with Mom or going to a sporting event with Dad. Other possible activity rewards include a piggyback ride with Dad, an extra bedtime story or acting as Mom's special helper in the kitchen.

Reward Boards

• If your child needs constant reminders to behave, a visual reward system can sometimes do the trick. Make a chart on poster board and tape it up in the living room or kitchen. Have a "good" side and a "bad" side. Every time the child does something good, he gets one check mark on the good side; when he misbehaves, he gets a check mark on the bad side. After a certain number of "good" check marks, the child gets a reward, such as a trip to the zoo or the chance to decide what's for supper. If the child accumulates enough "bad" marks, some of his "good" marks are erased. A reward system like this one reinforces learning to control behavior to meet a long-term goal.

Offering Privileges

• Give your child special "adult" privileges when she behaves, such as feeding the family pet, setting the table or choosing how to dress for school. You can reward older children, like "tweens" and teenagers, with the right to redecorate their own rooms, use a cell phone or pick their own bedtimes on weekends. Offering these kinds of rewards not only teaches good behavior but helps your kids gradually learn to take on new responsibilities as they become capable of handling them.

Make It a Game

• Turn good behavior into its own reward by making a game out of it. For example, if your child is slow getting dressed in the morning, make it a race against the clock by setting a timer and urging him to beat his own record every morning. If your kids are bad at cleaning up, have them compete to see who can pick up the most toys. If there's a particular behavior you want to encourage, such as playing quietly, give your child a colored rubber band every time he does what you ask. Show him how he can wrap these bands around a balled-up piece of aluminum foil to make an ever-growing rubber-band ball. The better he behaves, the larger the ball grows.