coolest kids ever, growing up, homeschooling

Carrot and stick, without the stick.

We’ve just introduced a reward system. It’s a system where good behavior is rewarded. Like if I manage to get through an entire day without yelling at the kids, I reward myself with a large bowl of ice-cream. Ok scratch that, it’s a bad example because I reward myself with ice-cream even on bad days with lots of yelling.

I tried the sticker reward system a while back when the kids were younger but they didn’t really buy it. It went something like this.

“Kids, these are called reward stickers! Whenever you do something good, we’ll give you one sticker and when you get 3 stickers, you can exchange it for a treat,” I explained with my enthusiastic high-pitched voice. “Who wants stickers?”

They glanced at it and threw me a dismissive “No need thanks!”

“You sure? Look, these stickers are so pretty and they’ve even got your name on it. You can exchange it for gummies and potato chips.”

They were unimpressed. “Uh, no need.”

I couldn’t understand it, it seemed like such a great idea. Perhaps they didn’t understand the concept. Perhaps they didn’t like my specially printed pretty stickers. Perhaps they were actually surly teenagers wo didn’t care for stupid rewards. Whatever the case, my ingenious plan was failing miserably so I shelved the idea.

Recently, I was inspired to give it another go and for some reason, this time it turned out to be a massive hit. I basically said the same thing to them while waving the exact same stickers.

“Kids, these are called reward stickers! Whenever you do something good, we’ll give you one sticker and when you get 3 stickers, you can exchange it for a treat. Who wants stickers?”

“ME!!!! I WANT, I WANT,” they yelled in unison.

“Ok, let’s start by packing up your room. You’ll get one sticker each if you pack up your room really well.”

5 minutes later, I came back into the room and they were scrambling to pack everything into their toy boxes. When they finished packing, we held a reward ceremony and bestowed upon them a shiny new sticker each. It was the lamest reward ceremony ever but they looked so terribly pleased all the same.

That night, we tried it again.

“Guys, you’ll get a sticker if fall asleep on your own. Daddy and mommy will be right outside but you can’t get off the bed ok. If you do well, you’ll get a sticker in the morning.”

We walked out of the room and waited for the usual requests of water, milk, toilet breaks and bedtime stories but there were none. 5 minutes later, nothing. 10 minutes later, still nothing. Finally, we sneaked in after 15 minutes to check on them and they were fast asleep. On their own. For the first time.

Reward system = hell yeah!

*Here’s a sample of what their charts look like. Download the printable versions here (Truett’s) and here (Kirsten).

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8 Comments

  • Reply Amie November 22, 2012 at 3:05 pm

    Wow…your reward charts looked so cute.
    I have been using these reward systems on my kids too & they always look forward to their “surprises” when they have accumulated 10 stars :)

    • Reply Daphne December 1, 2012 at 6:43 pm

      Wow 10 stars to a reward? Mine are very impatient, so 3 is like the optimum. Maybe we’ll increase it when they get older.. :)

  • Reply JustHeather November 22, 2012 at 7:00 pm

    Love it! Glad to hear the reward system is finally understood and accepted with gusto. May it continue that way for a long time.
    I’d love to bribe our little one to go to sleep on his own some nights. Last night being one of them. hehehe
    JustHeather´s last post ..I knew better than to eat an entire chocolate bar

    • Reply Daphne December 1, 2012 at 6:43 pm

      I know right.. yay bribery!!

  • Reply Ally November 23, 2012 at 11:07 pm

    Okie! So you have a chart for them to stick on. I was thinking of getting them a stickerbook each.
    Ally´s last post ..Avel- Ready to be promoted to K1

    • Reply Daphne December 1, 2012 at 6:44 pm

      Yeah we have it up on the wall so they can look at it and get motivated heh

  • Reply Yee Mei November 25, 2012 at 9:40 pm

    Ha ha! I love the part about rewarding yourself with ice cream everyday!
    Isn’t it strange how the first attempt at implementing the reward system didn’t work out, but the second one did?
    At first I thought “Huh! They got mum figured out, and they’re not falling for it!” But I guess it was more of a timing thing.
    I love the post.

    • Reply Daphne December 1, 2012 at 6:48 pm

      Timing is everything with kids man! We’ve learnt that if we catch them on a good day, they’ll agree to most things. :)

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