Alternative Rewards and Possibilities

Preschoolers

 

Going to the park	Playing with friends	Getting in bed with parents
Making mud pies	Listening to a bedtime story	Playing on a swing set
Spending the night with friends or grandparents	Being lifted into the air	Feeding a pet
Rocking	Playing games	Making noises with rattles, pans, or bells
Having a horse ride by swinging on parent’s foot	Doing a puppet play	Having parents take a Polaroid picture of the child
Talking into a tape recorder	Going out for hamburgers or pizza	Wearing dress-up clothes
Playing with clay or playdough	Going someplace alone with dad or mom	Helping plan the day’s activities
Helping mom or dad	Having a longer time in the bathtub	Riding on a bicycle with dad or mom
Whirling in a circle by arms	Watching a rainstorm	Playing in the sandbox
Sitting in the chair with dad or mom	Going to the library	Going for a picnic
Bouncing on the bed	Playing outside	Riding a tricycle
Staying up late	Going on a trip to the zoo	Getting a piggy-back ride
Having a bubble bath	Singing songs	Skipping
Delaying a nap	Flushing the toilet	Riding on dad’s shoulders
Going outside at night	Having a family night	Helping to hold baby sister or brother
Swimming	Reading a story	Mixing cookie dough
Having a special dessert	Chewing gum	Finger painting
Drawing with crayons	Listening to walkman	Playing a game with parent(s)
Sitting in the front seat	Playing video game	Watching a video
Renting a video game	Renting a video	Computer time

 Elementary School Children

Taking a trip to the park	Playing with friends	Having a bedtime story
Playing on the swing set	Spending the night with friends or grandparents	Going to a ball game
Spending the night with friends or grandparents	Being lifted into the air	Feeding a pet
Eating out	Going someplace alone with dad or mom	Baking something in the kitchen
Planning a day’s activities	Riding on a bicycle	Going on a fishing trip with dad or mom
Choosing a TV program	Taking time off from chores	Holding hands while walking
Using the telephone	Dressing up in parent’s clothes	Setting the table
Camping in the backyard	Going to the library	Chewing gum
Telling a round-robin story	Decorating the home for the holidays	Helping to make Jell-O, popcorn, or something similar
Helping to take a gift to a friend	Feeding the baby	Staying up late
Going to the movies, especially with a friend	Making a trip along	Playing a favorite tape or CD
Coloring	Riding next to the window in the car	Riding in the front seat
Listening to themselves on a tape recording	Choosing the menu for a meal	Calling grandma to tell of their successes
Getting a promise to ride the escalator three or four times in a store	Putting up schoolwork on the refrigerator door	Buying something
Planting a garden	Going for a picnic	Going skating, swimming or bowling
Making something, some special craft with mom or dad	Ordering pizza	Going for a hike
Going canoeing or camping or fishing or skiing	Sleeping in a different place in the house	Doing a jigsaw puzzle
Decorating your own room	Having a special after-school snack	Having a special treat in their school lunch
Choosing a special breakfast	Playing a game with mom or dad like checkers, marbles or cards	Listening to a walkman
Computer time	Playing a video game	Renting a video game

Teenagers

Having dating privileges	Participating in activities with friends	Having friends over
Taking dancing or music lessons	Redecorating their own room	Skating or bowling with friends
Talking additional time on the telephone	Playing the stereo	Making a trip alone
Finding a part-time job	Taking the car to school for a day	Getting to stay out late
Having car privileges	Staying up late	Staying overnight with friends
Taking time off from chores	Having a date during the week	Getting a chance to earn money
Selecting TV programs	Being the chairman at a family meeting	Getting to use the family camera
Getting a driver’s license	Driving the car on a family trip	Camping out
Going to summer camp	Getting a special haircut or hair style	Going to Disneyland or some other amusement park
Being allowed to sit alone when the family eats out	Inviting a friend to eat out	Getting to sleep in late on the weekend
Having their own checking account	Receiving a magazine subscription	Going shopping with friends
Buying a tape or CD	Having their own telephone	Selecting something special for dinner
Going to the library	Going bowling, skating, etc. with friends	Going horseback riding
Going to a concert with friends	Going to the movies with friends	Computer time

 

There are so many options but these are just a few from various sources!  I pray that these will help have much success!  GTG…RR~!

Reward Types

Types of Rewards for Your Children – There are several types of rewards you can give to your children for completing their chores. You can give them monetary incentives and non-monetary incentives as chores payment.

You might also want to consider designing a ‘bank book’ for each portion of the allowance and tuck each into three separate coffee cans or money jars, and that way you and your child will be able to keep track of how much has been saved, how much has been spent, and how much of their allowance has gone to help someone else.
Should you decide to use non-monetary incentives as chores payment, be sure you set clear parameters for your child.

Be sure they understand that two hours each weekend of their favorite video game or going to see a movie with mom or dad is only earned by completing the chore list successfully each week. You might want to consider writing these on a slip of paper as ‘currency’ for the child to keep in their ‘privilege bank’ and they can cash it in with you when they’d like. Regardless of the method you choose, keep in mind this can be a valuable tool for both you and your child. So, be wise, be patient and be their best friend.

Food

Health experts have cautioned parents to avoid using food to reward kids for every good thing they do. But reserving food rewards for one special effort, such as earning good grades, can be a positive reinforcement for your kids. Don’t just give Junior a candy bar when he brings home an excellent report card. Instead, make the reward more meaningful and significant:

Let him choose what to have for dinner one night.

Take him to his favorite restaurant.

Hit the grocery store together and let him pick out his favorite goodies.

Friends

Kids love celebrating with their friends, so reward your child with some special friend time for her accomplishments:

Let her invite a friend or two (or more) over for a sleepover.

Let her pick one friend to take along when you go shopping, to the movies, bowling, etc.

Let her talk/text on the phone or chat on the Internet a little longer than you usually allow.

Time

Kids are always so confined by rules at school and home. Relax those constraints and give your kid a little dose of freedom:

Let him stay up an hour past his regular bedtime.

Give him an extra hour of TV, computer or video game time.

Give him a break from his regular chores to hang out doing whatever he wants.

　You

There’s nothing better you can give your kids than your own time. Turn off the phone, computer and all other distractions and reward your child with your undivided attention (something you may do less often than you realize!):

Let your child select the activity — board game, bike ride, shopping, movies.

Let your child pick the destination of the next family outing.

If you have more than one child, plan an activity that doesn’t include the siblings for a change.

Your child’s favorite things

The key to the perfect reward is knowing what your child really likes. If she likes fashion, take her shopping. If he loves cars, let him test-drive some at a nearby dealership. Go to a salon or a sporting event together. And offer praise. Children love to please their parents, so make sure they know how proud you are. The more personal the reward, the more appreciated it will be.

(Alternative Allowance/Behavior Rewards can be a great tool as well.)  See Aleternative Rewards for details

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

Encouragement and Praise!

We all want encouragement and praise! Here are just a few simple statements that will make a difference!You’ve got it made. You’re on the right track now! You are very good at that. ·I‘m happy to see you working like that. You’re doing a good job. That’s the best you’ve ever done. I knew you could do it. ·Now you’ve figured it out. ·Now you have it! ·GREAT! ·You make it look easy. ·That’s the right way to do it. ·You’re getting better every day. ·SENSATIONAL! ·That’s the way to do it. ·Best yet. ·PERFECT! ·TERRIFIC! ·Much better! ·You’ve just about mastered that! ·OUTSTANDING! ·You did that very well. ·FANTASTIC! ·You’re really improving. ·SUPERB! ·Keep it up! ·You’ve got that down pat! ·TREMENDOUS! ·Good thinking! ·I’m very proud of you. ·I think you’ve got it now. ·You figured that out fast. ·That’s really nice. CLEVER! ·That’s great! ·Way to go. ·Now you have the hang of it! ·You’ve done a great job. ·Congratulations, you got it right

·That’s GOOD! ·GOOD WORK! I’m proud of the way you worked today. You’re really working hard today. ·You’ve just about got it. THAT’S IT! ·Congratulations! . ·You are doing that much better today. ·You’re learning fast. ·Good for you! ·Couldn’t have done it better myself. ·You did it that time! ·That’s the way! ·SUPER DUPER! ·You haven’t missed a thing. ·Keep up the good work. ·Nothing can stop you now! ·EXCELLENT! ·FINE! ·Wonderful! ·That’s better than ever. ·I appreciate your hard work. ·Now that’s what I call a fine job! ·You must have been practicing! ·You’re doing beautifully. ·Right on!　 ·You’re doing fine. ·You are really learning a lot. ·You outdid yourself today! ·SPLENDID! ·Good going! ·MARVELOUS! ·Good job. ·Well, look at you go! ·DYNAMITE! ·Nice Work 　 There are so many more but hopefully these will help everyone at every age gain CONFIDENCE!

A Funny Thing

Top 10 Things no child has ever died from:
10. Screaming their lungs out
9. Not getting the latest game, musical thing, outfit etc..
8. Eating cheesesticks all day long
7. Taking a moment to say what they are thankful for
6. Sitting by their brother or sister for the family photo
5. Heartbreak of a twited slinky toy
4. Being left with Dad-gasp!-while you do something for more than a couple of hours
3. Seeing a movie ONE day After the movie is released
2. Having to wait longer to use a tool that a family member got them
1. Too many hugs and kisses

~Parenting Magazine November 09