Rewards charts are known to be very useful tools in behaviour management for children. And, if you’re not quite sure on how to go about using them, here are some basic tips:
1. You can use rewards charts with kids who can only understand basic cause-and-effect relationships. If you can talk to your child about how an action can affect a reaction (e.g., tooth brushing can earn praise/stars/etc.), then using rewards charts may be useful. If they can’t understand these things yet, then it’s probably too early to use a rewards chart.
2. Set expectations as early as possible. When using rewards charts, make sure you identify the actual target task (e.g., eating vegetables for dinner). Once this is clear, explain what type of reward they will get (e.g., a star, a stamp, a sticker, etc) every time they complete the task. Then, explain how many times they will need to repeat the task in order to obtain a reward or treat (e.g., they need to eat vegetables 7 times and get 7 stars, in order to get the desired reward such as extra 30 minutes of TV time).
3. Make sure that task repetition is done at a reasonable time. For example, a younger child may need to have only 3 - 4x task repetition before he or she obtains a rewards, while on older child may be able to hold off for 8 - 10x task repetition before getting a reward.
4. Come up with clear and reasonable rewards. It’s important to make this as specific as possible (e.g., 1 piece of chocolate, 30 minutes trip to playground, a small toy aeroplane, etc). Also, don’t set up something too big, especially not in the first instance (no promises of expensive toys!). This will set the tone of your rewards programme. It’s more important to make it more about the desired task rather than the actual material rewards.
5. Provide a lot of praise! Kids love receiving positive feedback. If they’re finding it difficult to complete the task, make sure that you encourage them to keep going and be flexible with how well they can complete the task without ‘giving in’ too much. It’s important to make them feel that they’re making progress.
6. Display their rewards chart where they can see their daily progress. Talk to them about it when you get the chance, and let them know how close they are to achieving their reward. And, make sure to highlight what they’ve been doing right.
7. Celebrate the completion/attainment of rewards. Even if you’re planning to continue using the rewards chart approach, it’s always good to celebrate whenever the child achieves their goals.
8. Rewards charts are not permanent. Make sure to plan a phasing out programme. If you can see that you’ve generally achieved the desired behaviour from the target tasks, then it’s best to slowly phase out the rewards programme. You can use rewards again for the next desired behaviour change at another time.
If you’re interested in use free printable rewards charts, check out these free downloads of rewards charts at bubhub. They have about 6 different types of rewards charts available - with various task repetitions (some are 4, some are 9, etc).
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