What Do You Give The Children For Rewards

[Guest]

Hi Can you tell me what does everyone give the children for rewards. We have started giving stickers before the children go home for good sitting etc, but we found that some of the children have not behaved very well all morning so we are giving them a reward. We thought about giving something during the morning instead for good tidying or good behaviour. What do you think.

We need to come up with something new. We also thought of a sticker chart but can we do that. Dorinda

[Guest]

I personally think acknowledgement, value and loud clear heartfelt praise at the time of the good behaviour is enough.

 

Peggy

[Guest]

I personally think acknowledgement, value and loud clear heartfelt praise at the time of the good behaviour is enough.

 

Peggy

i whole heartedly agree. A verbal reward, praise and enccourage ment are far better. Children have to learn that not everything is rewarded materialy and some children HATE stickers. I have used them in the past, but our setting discourages this in a BIG way.

[Panders]

Hi Dorinda, we did used to have sticker charts, they were kept out of sight in a special box and we wrote why the child was being given the sticker and the date and the child chose the sticker and put it on for themselves, the sticker chart remained with us until the child left and then went home with them. We decided that we wanted more instant means of rewarding and so I make up labels on the computer which say things like "ask me what I did really well today" and I also stick on a shiny star or something, this encourages parents to ask their child, sometimes the children forget what they did, but hey ho .... other stickers I put WOW I................ and we write in what their WOW moment was, I have others which say, "I ate all my lunch today", and we also have the usual ones you can buy commercially for very quick instant hits for sitting quietly at the table, saying thankyou without prompt etc.

 

We generally only used stickers in the past for PSED stuff, but now we use them for skills attained as well. The main thing we found is not to give them out too liberally, this way they appear special, but on the other hand not too challenging and try and make sure that all children have a sticker for something over the week/2 weeks. Sometimes its very easy to miss out the child who is quiet 'all the time', or doesn't fuss over having one, so often when one child receives a sticker up goes the cry "but I tidied up as well", or "why can't I have a sticker"

[Guest]

Hi

 

I tend to give out stickers only rarely and sing a 'Well done' song aswell. I think that if you give out stickers all the time children just start to expect them for doing very little. I don't really think that children should always expect to get something like a sticker for tidying up or sitting well, a quick 'well done you are sitting really nicely' usually does the trick for my children. However, there are some children who may have trickier behaviour where a reward system does benefit them. I used one for a child that was getting very upset about coming in as her mum had just had a baby, I used a sticker chart for two weeks which worked really well and after that she didn't need it anymore. The rest of the class were really good about it, and would go with her to put the sticker on it.

 

xx

[Inge]

never used them, same as Peggy,

 

as to why not.. my 4 yr old was good, and never got the sticker reward..

so he worked out that if he misbehaved and caused havoc then sat still or did well he got one...

 

we had one very unmanageable child just because he wanted the sticker everyone else got ...

 

he always was a bright spark..

 

Inge

[sunnyday]

how about this for absolutely 'cringe making'.........

 

I spotted a child coming out ofPrimary school with a huge 'handmade' sticker/label that said......'Please hear me read tonight'

[Upsy Daisy]

That is an awful thing to do for lots of reasons. What a terrible way to communicate.

[Guest]

We do use stickers and our children respond well to that type of reward,

 

but we are also prone to "clever claps" to let the children know we appreciate their trying at something/ or achieving something!! This can happen as the child is doing/ trying in the midst of a session so it is an immediate reward.

 

Praise is also an excellent reward!

[Cait]

We do stickers, but they are not given willy-nilly. For the one child who jumps up to do something when the whole group is asked, for the child who helps to look after a child who is incessantly 'mummy's coming back' for a child who noticeably really sings well at songtime when the others are being apathetic - then they all perk up and get one too!

 

We also ask if the child wants the sticker on their top or in their notebook and we do a 'wow' for the wall too.

 

I think a sticker can be a brilliant boost to a child's self-esteem and I can't recall a time when it's been a negative - other children can see why a child got one and they didn't - and if they really want one too then they just give that extra next time

 

Hope this makes sense.

[sunnyday]

incessantly 'mummy's coming back'

 

Is this one of mine 'moonlighting' at yours! (Have just one who does this ... not easy - you can have him if you like )

 

I also use stickers in just the ways you have described.......I'm not above a little bribery either.......last Tuesday afternoon we joined the Primary School to watch their junior school play....I might have been heard to say........"now if you are all really, really good I might be able to find some very special stickers"...worked a treat!

[Cait]

HAHA reminded me of when a particular little boy started, he just said 'mummy's coming baaaack' ALL session, wasn't upset and it didn't make any difference whatever we said to him, he just repeated it like a mantra - every session for about a whole half term! (still occasionally says it now, two and a half years later!) The member of staff I had at the time was newly with us, and she used to sit with him quite a bit - she only recently confessed to me that one evening she went home and grabbed her husband by the lapels and shook him backwards and forwards saying 'mummy's coming baaaack'!!!!! and it made her feel so much better. Husband's reaction? a shrug and 'ok'

[katekit]

We had 'Star of the morning' and 'Star of the afternoon', the children got a 'stamp' on their hand and their names were written on wipe-able star cards which were put in the window for parents to see, children became the star for all sorts of reasons and we only had 24 so over a few weeks they all had a turn (legitimately!).

We also use stickers, claps, pats on the back and the occasional 'sweet'!

[Guest]

We do have class stickers and stampers used in work books-I'm not a fan of these and IF they get a sticker from Mrs L the children and parents know they have really really earned it!!

 

Reception run a good behaviour system. Self registration is putting their caterpillar on the-sandwich or lunch leaf.If they show good behaviour/kindness etc they are told to put their caterpillar on the flower, second reward they turn it into a butterfly.If they are unkind they remove their caterpillar from our plant but can replace it by showing positive behavour. At the end of the week all butterfly children get a small certificate and a group photo is taken and displayed on the cloakroom window.

 

Personally I use.-Thumb nail claps, thumbs up or patting the person next to you on the back when we are praising the group.Instant verbal praise (I can be very dramatic!) but my favourite is I have jar and a basket of glass beads (ikea) 'put a bead in the jar' means they can put one into the jar and it makes a very satisfying clink.The children love it and all recognise the clink and turn to look so the child feels special. At the end of the day we count the beads to assess what kind of day we have had-easy!

[Guest]

last Tuesday afternoon we joined the Primary School to watch their junior school play....I might have been heard to say........"now if you are all really, really good I might be able to find some very special stickers"...worked a treat!

 

Had to laugh as I read that one sunny day - mine love stickers but as everyone else has said i try not to rely on them out too much but at this end of term I will try anything and am not adverse to a bit of bribery (I know I am very bad) to encourage a happy day for everyone. I said just that to my little darlings this afternoon at home time as tomorrow we have to watch the yr 6 leavers production and it is often THE LONGEST AFTERNOON OF THE YEAR for me!!

[Guest kmagee]

I like to choose a psed target each week. I display it on a chart and record when each child manages to 'be kind' etc with a smiley face. I also add stars for other extra good behaviour. The children love counting how many they have. I then use the information to help choose who gets in the golden book for golden Assembly. I also use stamps on hands to encourage participation during group reading.