Your preschooler is a master of the monkey bars, the king of constructing crafts, and a potty training professional! Day by day, they are turning into a capable, independent little person who is building the skills they need to take on the world. Is there anything they can’t do? Once your child begins showing initiative, it might be time to give them some bigger tasks around the house. Plenty of TLE families use chore rewards to get their little ones more involved. Implementing a reward system for kids is a great way to encourage them!
Every day the children at The Learning Experience clean up their own materials, enjoy community-style meals, and take care of their classroom. Clearly, their teachers know a thing or two about bringing out the best in young children! We asked them for their tips, and today we’ll be sharing their best ideas for putting effective reward systems into practice.
Keep reading to learn how to create an at-home rewards system that works!
The Ground Rules for Rewarding Your Kids
Many parents think that putting a chore chart up on the wall will instantly transform their child into a motivated, task-completing machine. The truth is a little more complicated. There has been a lot of research done on the right way to use rewards to motivate children.
Before you make a mistake, brush up on these essential, research-driven ground rules so you can set up a child reward system that works.
Keep It Positive
If you’re setting up a rewards system, make sure it’s really a rewards system! In other words, only use your chart to track positive behavior using positive reinforcement. Keeping the focus on what a child is doing well can help them build self-esteem and show them that they’re capable.
Every child has rough days – or even rough weeks. This might be the result of developmental changes or even a night of bad sleep. You don’t want to punish a child for struggling and accidentally teach the wrong lesson.
With that in mind, if your child earns stickers or points for performing a task, do not take them away! It’s an easy threat to make when you’re frustrated, but it can render your system ineffective.
If you chose to include consequences for not completing tasks, make sure they are kept separate. Consequences should never take away from the things your child has done right.
Keep It Simple
A rewards system for little kids must be clear. Start by tracking one task or behavior at a time. Preschool-aged children need to work hard to build new habits, and a single novel task is a lot for their growing brains!
Remove any ambiguity and make sure the success criteria are very clear. Your child should understand exactly what they need to do to earn the reward from the beginning. When they meet the criteria, give positive, specific praise.
If you can reward them immediately, that is even better! The reward will give their brain a nice hit of dopamine. Kids quickly begin to associate that happy feeling with a job well done!
Simple, clear rewards systems are the only effective rewards systems. You don’t need a complex, multi-tiered token economy to get the best out of your kids!
Be Consistent
Little ones thrive when the systems around them are regimented and clear. Don’t change your system on a whim in response to natural changes in behavior.
For example, you might use a sticker chart to track whether your preschooler has put their toys away. Always do your “check” at the same time so there are no surprises. If the toys are away at the agreed-upon time, they get a sticker – no negotiation, no confusion.
That means you should not give or take away stickers for unrelated tasks or behavior issues. If you give your child a sticker because they cleaned their room, don’t take it away because they didn’t finish their dinner. That’s confusing!
Children can’t always be consistent, so they need you to be. You are the rock that makes building these new habits possible!
How to Choose Incentives for Chores
Some kids will go above and beyond for verbal praise. Other kids need immediate, tangible rewards to build positive habits. Striking a balance between a preschooler’s inherent desire to please and their developmental level can be the trickiest part of designing a rewards system!
Here are a few techniques that work well for our preschool-aged taskmasters!
Personalize the Chore Chart
Kids feel more invested when you involve them in the process! Create or print a simple chore chart template and then get out the crayons and markers. Let your child design their dream chart!
You can further personalize the experience by choosing stickers that they love. If the sticker is exciting enough on its own, you might not even need to offer other rewards!
Make It a Teaching Tool
Kids learn best when engaging in meaningful experiences. Consider offering a bigger prize when your child earns 10 stickers on their chart.
This can make math concepts like counting and one-to-one correspondence a big part of the experience.
Give Other Systems a Try
If the allure of a sticker chart begins wearing thin, try a more tactile visual system. Your child might earn ping-pong balls in an egg carton, pom-poms in a jar, or magnets on the fridge!
These novel systems are interesting and satisfying and can bring some new vigor to an old task!
Build an Effective Reward System for Kids
Assigning chores is a great way to prove that you believe your child is trustworthy. Teach your little one that they are capable of taking on important household tasks! Over time, your new reward system for kids will build confidence, competence, and self-esteem!
If you want to see a positive rewards system in action, stop by our gorgeous center in Orlando-Lake Nona. Visit our website to schedule a tour today. Once you see how joyful and capable our TLE family can be, you’ll want to pitch in, too!
The Learning Experience – Orlando – Lake Nona
11800 Narcoossee Rd
Orlando, FL 32832
(407) 313-0791
https://thelearningexperience.com/center/orlando-lake-nona/
