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When I was a child my father expected me to make good grades. EXPECTED is the key word here. My parents didn’t have a lot of money, but would often pay me a quarter for every “A” I got on my report card. It was a reward.

I grew up and had children of my own. Naturally, I wanted to inspire them to reach their potentials while at the same time, teach them to appreciate . . . and to give.

Remember Cracker Jack? Probably not; if you’re a young parent. But, Cracker Jack boxes used to have some really neat little prizes in the bottom of the box. It was a reward for buying and eating the Cracker Jack (caramel popcorn).

The advertising world calls these little rewards “incentives”. An old fashioned saying would be “dangling a carrot in front of your nose”. This phrase came from hanging a carrot in front of a mule to get it to go forward.

Years ago companies would get people to buy their products by putting a washcloth in the box of laundry detergent. I remember collecting drinking glasses, one at a time from another company.

My father tried to give me an incentive to make good grades in school by offering me a quarter for the A’s.

Rewards come from working. We work hard and get a paycheck at the end of the pay period, albeit week or month. Children also need rewards.

Rewards come at the end of an accomplishment. Incentives are for getting the child to actually start the accomplishment with the understanding that a reward will be given for the final completed result.

You can motivate your child to accomplish and finish homework, household chores, good behavior, folding laundry, and many other things.

Start when the child is very young by giving plenty of praise. Kids react to praise more than we think.

When a kindergarten child comes home with a scribbled piece of paper and calls it art, tell them how much you love it. Praise their accomplishment, however slight it might be.

Every child likes to be rewarded for a job well done. Generations don’t matter; we are all the same. Compliment your young children and they’ll be motivated to do more for your praise.

As they go into school, inspire them to set goals and work toward reaching those goals by establishing a reward at the end. Put pictures of the objective around the child’s room.

Together, sit down and cut up magazines or make drawings of things the child wants as a result of their hard work. It doesn’t have to be money . . . that’s dependent on the child’s age and whether or not you can afford it.

Rewards can be things like:

1. Having a friend spend the night.
2. Eating over at a friend’s house
3. Renting a favorite movie or going out to a movie theater
4. Making a trip to the zoo or the park
5. Buying a special treat

Now, put your thinking cap on and come up with a list of things your child needs to accomplish. Then sit down with him or her to discuss how they can achieve the end result.

[Author, The Behavior Solution]