Reward Suggestions For Kids – A Guide for Parents

Child Play Reward - Swing Around

This page contains suggestions for rewards for children of various age groups. These rewards can be provided as positive reinforcement for behavior modification programs.

Rewards that are selected by the child usually are the most powerful. Also, a variety of reward possibilities helps to keep a child motivated over a long period of time.

Rewards can be privileges, things or activities with parents. They are never a substitute for words of praise and encouragement. Rewards are most meaningful when given along with positive words and touch from parents.

Check out the suggestions for your child:

Home Reward Possibilities for Preschoolers

Going to the park	Playing with friends	Getting in bed with parents
Making mud pies	Listening to a bedtime story	Playing on a swing set
Spending the night with friends or grandparents	Being lifted into the air	Feeding a pet
Rocking	Playing games	Making noises with rattles, pans, or bells
Having a horsy ride by swinging on parent’s foot	Doing a puppet play	Having parents take a Polaroid picture of the child
Talking into a tape recorder	Going out for hamburgers or pizza	Wearing dress-up clothes
Playing with clay or playdough	Going someplace alone with dad or mom	Helping plan the day’s activities
Helping mom or dad	Having a longer time in the bathtub	Riding on a bicycle with dad or mom
Whirling in a circle by arms	Watching a rainstorm	Playing in the sandbox
Sitting in the chair with dad or mom	Going to the library	Going for a picnic
Bouncing on the bed	Playing outside	Riding a tricycle
Staying up late	Going on a trip to the zoo	Getting a piggy-back ride
Having a bubble bath	Singing songs	Skipping
Delaying a nap	Flushing the toilet	Riding on dad’s shoulders
Going outside at night	Having a family night	Helping to hold baby sister or brother
Swimming	Reading a story	Mixing cookie dough
Having a special desert	Chewing gum	Finger painting
Drawing with crayons	Listening to walkman	Playing a game with parent(s)
Sitting in the front seat	Playing video game	Watching a video
Renting a video game	Renting a video	Computer time

Home Reward Possibilities for Elementary School Children

Taking a trip to the park	Playing with friends	Having a bedtime story
Playing on the swing set	Selecting something special for dinner	Going to a ball game
Spending the night with friends or grandparents	Being lifted into the air	Feeding a pet
Eating out	Going someplace alone with dad or mom	Baking something in the kitchen
Planning a day’s activities	Riding on a bicycle	Going on a fishing trip with dad or mom
Choosing a TV program	Taking time off from chores	Holding hands while walking
Using the telephone	Dressing up in parent’s clothes	Setting the table
Camping in the backyard	Going to the library	Chewing gum
Telling a round-robin story	Decorating the home for the holidays	Helping to make Jell-O, popcorn, or something similar
Helping to take a gift to a friend	Feeding the baby	Staying up late
Going to the movies, especially with a friend	Making a trip along	Playing a favorite tape or CD
Coloring	Riding next to the window in the car	Riding in the front seat
Listening to themselves on a tape recording	Choosing the menu for a meal	Calling grandma to tell of their successes
Getting a promise to ride the escalator three or four times in a store	Putting up schoolwork on the refrigerator door	Buying something
Planting a garden	Going for a picnic	Going skating, swimming or bowling
Making something, some special craft with mom or dad	Ordering pizza	Going for a hike
Going canoeing or camping or fishing or skiing	Sleeping in a different place in the house	Doing a jigsaw puzzle
Decorating your own room	Having a special after-school snack	Having a special treat in their school lunch
Choosing a special breakfast	Playing a game with mom or dad like checkers, marbles or cards	Listening to a walkman
Computer time	Playing a video game	Renting a video game
Watching a video	Renting a video	Skate boarding

Home Reward Possibilities for Teenagers

Having dating privileges	Participating in activities with friends	Having friends over
Taking dancing or music lessons	Redecorating their own room	Skating or bowling with friends
Talking additional time on the telephone	Playing the stereo	Making a trip alone
Finding a part-time job	Taking the car to school for a day	Getting to stay out late
Having car privileges	Staying up late	Staying overnight with friends
Taking time off from chores	Having a date during the week	Getting a chance to earn money
Selecting TV programs	Being the chairman at a family meeting	Getting to use the family camera
Getting a driver’s license	Driving the car on a family trip	Camping out
Going to summer camp	Getting a special haircut or hair style	Going to an amusement park
Being allowed to sit alone when the family eats out	Inviting a friend to eat out	Getting to sleep in late on the weekend
Having their own checking account	Receiving a magazine subscription	Going shopping with friends
Buying a tape or CD	Having their own telephone	Selecting something special for dinner
Going to the library	Going bowling, skating, etc. with friends	Going horseback riding
Going to a concert with friends	Going to the movies with friends	Computer time