Rewarding Children’s Positive Behavior

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by Renae Chiovaro on February 21, 2012

Do you ever feel like all your children ever hear from you are “don’t” or “stop” or “can’t you just listen”?

Hubby and I found ourselves in a rut with our active boys. Their behavior has been less than stellar lately. We were constantly nagging them about their behavior. And because our boys were not listening we ended up more frustrated. For example, it took twenty minutes of constant reminding for them to get dressed. After the second, third and fourth time of asking them to get dressed, our voices would elevate with annoyance. I am sure many of you are familiar with this story!

A couple of weeks ago I decided that maybe we should use more positive reinforcement. Why don’t we reward them when they do something correct?

Capt. M’s school has a star ticket program. When a child does something correctly, they get a ticket. When they get 20 tickets, they can pick a prize. I decided this would work for home too! I went to the Dollar Tree and purchased a roll of raffle tickets and small prizes. When the boys do something after I ask for the first time, they get a ticket. I also give out tickets when they are helpful or just being well behaved. I will say something like “I appreciate the way you are sitting on the couch nicely and not wrestling! Here is a star ticket for your good behavior!”

Capt. M has responded well to this new program. He has become a lot more helpful around the house and he seems to follow directions a little more closely. He still has some work to do- but making progress! Mr B. is also making progress but is a little young to completely understand the concept.

Another great thing about this program is it helps the children learn math. Both boys are constantly counting their tickets. Capt. M is learning how to subtract and tell me how many more he needs to get to twenty. Mr. B is learning how to count higher than 13.

Do you use a rewards system at home?

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Renae Chiovaro

Renae is a married working mom of two handsome boys. She works as a registered dental hygienist by day and blogs here at How to Have it All by night. She enjoys cooking from scratch, working in her vegetable garden and functional training.

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