How To Use Incentives To Promote Good Behavior: Tips For Giving Incentives To Kids

Incentives are used to promote certain behaviors. Incentives are used by employers for their employees in order to inspire them to work harder and smarter. Parents can also initiate the concept of incentives to promote good behavior in their children.

Knowing the best tips for giving incentives to kids can make this practice even more effective and successful. Empowering Parents shared some useful tips for giving incentives to kids.

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Giving Incentives vs. Bribing

Incentives can be useful in promoting good behavior, but only if it is done properly. Many parents struggle with this practice because what they are actually doing is bribing instead of giving incentives.

Being aware of the negative effects of bribing is one of the most important tips for giving incentives to kids. Bribing involves giving rewards to kids while they are displaying bad behavior. An example of bribing is a parent who promises to buy some candies for her kids if they stop shouting and running around a grocery store.

Giving incentives is very different from bribing. "An incentive is chosen in a calm moment before a behavior takes place," Empowering Parents shares. "You and your child talk about - and agree on - the behavior and incentive ahead of time."

Bribing produces negative outcomes because it teaches kids that there are rewards to be reaped from displaying bad behavior. Incentives can produce positive outcomes because they can teach kids that something good can come out of displaying good behavior and working hard.

Frequency Of Giving Incentives For Good Behavior

Some child experts believe that giving incentives can actually do harm on a child's behavior. They believe that giving incentives to kids can hinder them from developing their own sense of responsibility, according to PBS. For that reason, one of the best tips for giving incentives to kids is by knowing how often to give rewards to children.

Parents can give incentives when their kids are just starting to learn about a certain good behavior. Parents can stop giving incentives to kids once they are already used to performing that good behavior.