(One minute read)
If you are doing a reward system in your home, or you are guiding parents to reward their children for green behaviors through tickets and praise, what is the magical number of tickets and/or praise parents should be giving in order for them to see REAL change quickly?
Well, that magical number is 30! That means that children should be getting an average of 30 tickets or praise per day on Monday through Thursday (and double or triple that amount on weekends when they are home more.)
Why 30??
Think about the many opportunities we have to criticize or prompt children in the morning (getting dressed, getting dressed fast, brushing teeth, brushing hair, putting on shoes on the right feet, eating breakfast, clearing their plate, taking snacks, putting their signed tests back in their folders, packing up their backpack, and so forth.Same goes for the evening. There are so many opportunities we have to get annoyed and criticize or prompt kids in the evening (washing their hands and face, doing each part of their homework, writing quickly and neatly, reading nicely, remembering to bring home all books and papers, making sure to put away all completed homework, eating dinner nicely, taking a bath, etc.
We can choose to criticize, yell, or remind kids every 3 minutes, OR we can praise and reward kids with approximately 15 tickets in the morning and 15 tickets in the evening for all green behaviors they are doing.
When done right, kids will start to think independently what else they can do to get more tickets.
One of our important goals as parents and educators is to raise independent children who feel competent and self-sufficient. By acknowledging and rewarding their positive behavior when they are still quite young, they are more likely to develop positive habits that will last a lifetime.
Your,
Dr Devora