What (free) incentives do your kids like?

[Anonymous]

We were going to institute a weekly family movie night as an incentive for good behavior. One child is thrilled. The other said that he is trying to reduce his screen time already. (About 30-45 minutes a day at home + whatever they get at school.) I want to encourage that impulse. Kids are kindergarten and second grade boys. Both parents have plenty of time on the weekends to implement *something*. Any suggestions? I know this sounds improbable, but my kid is weird.

[Anonymous]

Going to the store and getting to pick a treat works well for my kid. It’s always candy and they have a few then we save the rest for the next reward.

[Anonymous]

Family game night. Play a board game or make up your own.
Going for a hike together
Cooking dinner or dessert with the kids
Create a scavenger hunt for the kids. This could be inside, in your yard or in the neighborhood. During Covid my 3rd grader was at home and the teacher gave every kid a series of colors. They had to find 5 items in that color. They got extra points for unique items. So there were lots of kids with red Legos and red apples but only 1 bottle of V8 juice.
Go to a free museum in DC

[Anonymous]

Choosing dinner for the night.

[Anonymous]

Ask the kids what they might like.

Some ideas:
-Game night: 1 hour of board games
-Cookie baking
-Make a fort and read ghost stories
-Restaurant night. Parents take orders and serve kids. Have candles, fancy napkins. Make sundaes for dessert.

[Anonymous]

My kid values a special outing or experience with mom or dad- doesn’t have to cost anything necessarily, depending what you do, but but pick an activity your kid values.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the ideas so far. We’re tweeting to avoid incentives related to food. Sorry I didn’t mention that earlier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ask the kids what they might like.

Some ideas:
-Game night: 1 hour of board games
-Cookie baking
-Make a fort and read ghost stories
-Restaurant night. Parents take orders and serve kids. Have candles, fancy napkins. Make sundaes for dessert.

This is so cute!

[Anonymous]

Get a bunch of small toys.

[Anonymous]

The idea of them having to earn quality time with me bugs me. I'd get toys and call it a day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ask the kids what they might like.

Some ideas:
-Game night: 1 hour of board games
-Cookie baking
-Make a fort and read ghost stories
-Restaurant night. Parents take orders and serve kids. Have candles, fancy napkins. Make sundaes for dessert.

This is so cute!

I like this too...but can kids order anything? Is there a menu? How many options?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for all the ideas so far. We’re tweeting to avoid incentives related to food. Sorry I didn’t mention that earlier.

There are incentives related to food that do not mean eating unhealthy...like picking the dinner menu. Choosing a restaurant.

[Anonymous]

Trip to the bookstore! Encourages a love for reading. If funds are low, try used bookstores in the neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Think through how this is going to work with two kids. If one has a hard week, are you going to exclude him from family game night/fancy dinner/whatever? "Sorry Timmy, you can't play with us because you misbehaved on Wednesday" would not be received well by most people. Or will you tell the kid who was successful, sorry we can't play a game because Timmy misbehaved yesterday?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The idea of them having to earn quality time with me bugs me. I'd get toys and call it a day.

I agree with this. Institute a family movie/board game night to spend time with your kids. Then do something different to incentivize good behavior.