What are some inexpensive incentives for kids to work towards as a goal?

Question

I've used Chuck E. Cheese and it was sort of expensive. I just want them to behave well for 2 months and then they can get something fun. Any ideas?

Answer 1

How old is the child?

mylar balloons from the party store
trip to the ice cream shop
visit to the Zoo or visit to the Children's Museum (if you already have a membership, it's paid for!)
new book, game or toy
special outing with mom/dad
trip to the Dollar Store to pick out something
get to stay up late on the weekend
special dessert
trip to CEC but you only go to play the games, no meal
dinner at a special restaurant
mom fixes a special dinner at home that the child really likes
see if your Parks Dept. has any indoor pools.....going swimming in the winter would be a good treat! sometimes schools have "open swim" time as well
special privledge they don't usually get

Answer 2

Although I respect what you are looking for, are you positive this is the best way to do this? I mean, one would think they would do as you ask now for fun things, but when they get older they will expect it. Here is what I did, there was a point system, for every day they would behave they would receive ten points, at the end of the week the points would be tallied and that is how many pennies (can use nickels or dimes, whatever) they would get (Mind you this is on top of their allowance). At the end of the month whoever had a perfect month would receive a $5 bonus. Now, when anyone one of them were naughty, there was a naughty jar and they would have to pay the naughty jar a certain amount for what ever they did, they could never earn this back. That money was then donated to different causes, usually they wanted to send the money to the animal shelter, and the ones that lost the money got to pick the place.
Though this is just what I did with my children, it taught them that one cannot win every time, but it is fun to try. They behaved more often than not too.

Answer 3

The point of a reward system is to sort of overload them at first and then taper off. The reason we give more in the beginning is so that kids can see that they will get something in return for doing something good. And it can get expensive!

A couple of things:

Have your kids set up a treasure box and keep it somewhere where they can't get into it, but they can see it (like on top of the fridge). Get a big box, have the kids color it, sign their name, add stickers, whatever, so they know it's theirs.

Fill it up with stuff from the dollar store, little candies and coins. Then, find a few really cool things they might want (like those dollar gift certificates to McDonalds)

If they have a great day, they can get something out of the treasure box in the evening. That way, they'll be rewarded more frequently and it won't cost a ton of money. Being rewarded more frequently will also lead to more frequent good behavior.

Also, give out tv tickets. Each ticket is worth a half hour show, and when they behave, they earn a ticket and have to redeem it to watch a show!

www.sanemommy.com

Answer 4

Well depending on how old they are there is all sorts of things you can do for cheap!
How about a reward of going swimming, or bowling. I know a lot of lanes have lil kid balls and lanes with bumpers when we go i always see lil kids there and they love it!

What about a trip to Dairy Queen? And they can have any sort of ice cream them want?
Or maybe do a mystery bag once and put a coloring book, crayons, and chalk and maybe a toy if its under like $15 ????

Just an idea something fun for them to see how they are doing cross off hte days they were good on a calendar they can see, and have them count how many days left until their treat, not only will it be a reward but your secretly having them learn :) getting better at counting and understanding a calendar !!

Good luck to you i hope this helps!

Answer 5

Two months is a long time for a child to behave in order to get something. I would use smaller rewards and smaller increments of time. I don't know what behavior issues you are having, but spell out the behavior you're expecting and then do little and free rewards like going to the park or the library or doing a project with mom (this could be baking cookies or painting pictures or whatever they like). But I would do it more like "If you do this and this for the rest of the week, then we will do X." Make sure they know exactly what is expected, not just "behave well" but "If you don't talk back to mom for three days or if you turn your homework in on time for a week" or something like that. I'm assuming your kids are school-aged. With toddlers you have to make it even shorter periods of time (like a few hours max).

Answer 6

What I did with my 7 y/o is I got some of those "tickets" that you would get for like a 50/50 raffle. For every chore she was supposed to do, she got 1 ticket, for everything that she did w/o me telling her to do it she got another and so on...whatever you decide. By the end of the week she had to earn XX number of tickets if she earned or exceeded that amount, she got to pick a family thing to do on Saturday or Sunday, bowling, roller skating, putt putt...what ever. But the point that is being made is there is some sort of collateral, after about 2 weeks, those tickets were the most important thing in her life and getting the amount she needed...and trust me, we did not make it easy to get the number she needed either.

Answer 7

This is easy. Start by explaining to them the only thing you HAVE to give them is food, clothing, shelter (and of course, love). Then make them earn everything else.

Some parents clean out their kids rooms of toys, t.v.'s, computers, etc. etc. Then the kids have to earn back the extras. It is amazing what a "wake up call," this is to kids. And it is just like real life - with loving parents instead of cold employers making the judgement calls.

And do make the time intervals shorter. You can start with small intervals for small stuff - like inexpensive toys. Then a week at a time, or longer intervals for bigger privileges - like if they want a phone or computer in their room.

Answer 8

Reward them with privileges instead of tangible goods. For example, you do the dishes, and you get to stay up an extra half hour. Or...you clean your room, and you get to pick what we eat for dinner. Or... you behave well for these next two months and you get to skip a day of school and spend the day playing with mom in the park. If you use your imagination, you can reward them with additional responsibilities, making your own life a little easier.

Answer 9

I would do something fun but cheap. Try going to the library, park, movies, bowling, or skating on a weekend that they behave (during that week). My 10 yr old is happy just going to the park on Sat. or getting a toy from the Dollar store.

Answer 10

I have a 9 year old daughter and 11 yr old son. They each get $7 a week for allowance. To receive it they both keep rooms clean, bed made daily, and no talking back to their father or I. For each day their room is not tidy or they "talk back" , $1 is deducted. So on Fri (pay day) their allowance varies depending on what kind of week they had. Seems to work in our house!