I’m struggling with getting my kids to behave well without constantly giving them toys or treats. I’ve heard non-material rewards can be effective, but I’m not sure how to implement them. Any parents here have success with this? What kind of non-material rewards work well for different ages? I’m looking for practical ideas that won’t break the bank but will still motivate my kids. Thanks for any tips!
We started with a points system. Kids earn points for good behavior, then trade them for extra screen time or choosing dinner.
It’s simple and they enjoy it. Gives them a sense of control too.
Took some tweaking, but it’s working well for us now.
I’ve been trying different things with my 5-year-old. We made a fun chart with stickers, and she gets excited seeing it fill up. But some days she still doesn’t want to do her small tasks.
I’m curious about your adventure jar idea. How often do you do those activities? And do your kids ever lose interest in it?
For now, we’re doing a ‘helper of the day’ thing too. My daughter loves choosing what veggie we have or picking a bedtime story. It’s working okay, but I wonder if it’ll last.
What other simple rewards have worked well for you as your kids got older? I’d love to hear more ideas to try.
Hey there! I remember going through this with my kids. One thing that worked well was a ‘special time’ reward. If they did well during the week, they’d get to choose an activity for us to do together on the weekend. My daughter loved baking, so we’d make cookies. My son was into hiking, so we’d hit a local trail.
Another idea was letting them have a friend over if they finished their chores without complaining. It motivated them and gave them something to look forward to. As they got older, we switched to more freedom-based rewards. Extra time on their phones or a later curfew on weekends were big hits.
These rewards didn’t cost much but meant a lot to the kids. It took some trial and error to find what worked best, but it was worth it. The key was finding what each kid valued most. 
In our family, we’ve had success with a special ‘adventure jar.’ The kids get to add a note with an activity they want to do when they show good behavior or finish tasks.
On weekends, we pick a note from the jar. It’s been great because they look forward to the surprise. Activities can be simple like a picnic or trying a new park.
We also use a ‘helper of the day’ system. The helper gets to make small choices like picking a book at bedtime or what veggie we have for dinner.
These ideas have worked well for us. The kids enjoy earning these little rewards and it keeps things positive without needing to buy stuff all the time.
I’ve found that turning chores into a game can be pretty effective. My kid and I have this ‘beat the clock’ challenge where we set a timer and try to finish tasks before it goes off. It’s become a fun little competition, and sometimes we even race against each other. The best part is that the reward is usually just bragging rights or choosing what we do next. It’s not a perfect system, but it definitely makes clean-up time less of a battle in our house.