In my opinion, bribing kids is perfectly acceptable. We do it to adults all the time. I mean, really, would you go to work if your employer didn't pay you, just for the fun of it, every day???
So just figure out how to bribe them appropriately.
Here's an idea that worked wonders for me when my kids were little. Book bucks. I wanted them to love to read. For a lifetime. So I needed a way to establish that habit. I knew that if they read enough good books long enough, they would love it forever. Just needed to get them to that point. Modeling it myself didn't seem to be working. Nor did lectures on how good it would be for them. So I resorted to bribery. And proud of it.
Here's the deal -
I made a list of a whole bunch of things I wanted them to read. (Consult Honey for a Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt for ideas. or online lists like 100 books every child should read) Then assign point values to them, based on age appropriate-ness and difficulty. You are in charge and you can make the point value whatever you want it to be. Personally, I was pretty generous because my goal was to reward the desired behavior. Quickly.
I printed up "book bucks" to hand out upon completion of each book and I provided each child with the list of books and assigned points.
Finally, I came up with levels of rewards. 5 points might get you out of kitchen duty one night, 50 points might be a new Beanie Baby and 100 could be an ice cream date with Dad.
It worked. The kids read like crazy. Before too long, they each became an avid reader. And the bribing tapered off because they read just for the love of it.
We still have a closet full of Beanie Babies. And ice cream dates with Dad continue to be a sought after prize...reading or not.
So just figure out how to bribe them appropriately.
Here's an idea that worked wonders for me when my kids were little. Book bucks. I wanted them to love to read. For a lifetime. So I needed a way to establish that habit. I knew that if they read enough good books long enough, they would love it forever. Just needed to get them to that point. Modeling it myself didn't seem to be working. Nor did lectures on how good it would be for them. So I resorted to bribery. And proud of it.
Here's the deal -
I made a list of a whole bunch of things I wanted them to read. (Consult Honey for a Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt for ideas. or online lists like 100 books every child should read) Then assign point values to them, based on age appropriate-ness and difficulty. You are in charge and you can make the point value whatever you want it to be. Personally, I was pretty generous because my goal was to reward the desired behavior. Quickly.
I printed up "book bucks" to hand out upon completion of each book and I provided each child with the list of books and assigned points.
Finally, I came up with levels of rewards. 5 points might get you out of kitchen duty one night, 50 points might be a new Beanie Baby and 100 could be an ice cream date with Dad.
It worked. The kids read like crazy. Before too long, they each became an avid reader. And the bribing tapered off because they read just for the love of it.
We still have a closet full of Beanie Babies. And ice cream dates with Dad continue to be a sought after prize...reading or not.