Tag Archives: rewards

Rewards Points

I was just thinking about all the things I accumulate reward points for. I get points for buying Pampers products and points for buying Huggies products. I often look at the catalog of products I’m earning points to buy, for lack of a better word. I rarely see anything I want to pay shipping on to have. Although, I do think there’s a Pampers item I want. I guess I’ll just keep collecting points until I have enough for the vacation. I like Pampers diapers, although not the new Dry Max, and Huggies wipes, but don’t go out of my … Continue reading →

Making Healthy and Reasonable Resolutions

It’s that time of year: time to start thinking about New Year’s resolutions. I like the idea of a fresh start for the New Year. But I don’t always stick with my resolutions. I think that’s because I try to make them too big and too broad. Know what I mean? Get in shape. Eat better. Exercise more. They’re kind of nebulous and easy to forget. According to USA.gov, the most popular New Year’s resolutions include: Losing weight/exercising more/getting into shape Eating better/eating right Managing debt/saving money Quitting smoking Reducing stress Getting a better job Getting a better education Travel … Continue reading →

Single Parent Dating—Going Away for the Weekend, Part One

Eventually, the opportunity or interest may come up in your single parent dating experiences to get away from the realities of home for a couple days and get away for the weekend. What might be a typical activity in the evolution of an adult relationship can be a big deal for single parent. It takes coordination, explanation, and nips into the family budget. Deciding it is the right time, and figuring out how to go about planning and executing a romantic weekend get-away can be a major operation for the average single parent. Of course, it depends on the age(s) … Continue reading →

Some Kids don’t go in for Bribes

Positive reinforcement can be a fabulous parenting tool, as can using rewards for desired behavior and effort. There are those children, however, who can be tough cases—they just do not go in for bribes and rewards and it can be a real challenge for a parent to figure out how to influence the desired results. Charts, rewards, special privileges—all of these can be really great ways to motivate children. Not all children will go in for such things however. If a child already has everything and anything that he might desire, how will getting more “stuff” or privileges be a … Continue reading →

How is Your Patience?

I suspect many of us struggle with impatience – whether it is impatience with our husband or wife, with family members or even impatience with God. On Wednesday the Sing Australia choir I belong to, went to sing at a nursing home, When I arrived fifteen minutes before the time we were due to start, a large number of people were already assembled and waiting in the hall. Our pianist had arrived and was running through a few of the songs we were to sing. This was not enough for one elderly lady. She was ready and keen for the … Continue reading →

Keeping Promises to Ourselves

I like to operate on a reward system for myself. One of the ways I have discovered to keep myself motivated and encouraged is to promise myself rewards and “treats” at the end of a long week or after dealing with something particularly challenging (school conferences, filing taxes, paying bills, etc.) I think as single parents we have a tendency to keep our noses to the grindstone and we don’t necessary follow through on celebrations and rewards and make positive promises to ourselves that we actually keep. One of the things that we can learn as single parents is how … Continue reading →

Sometimes, There’s More of a Reward for Misbehavior Than Good Behavior

The truth is, when children choose to repeat annoying or unsavory behavior, there is a reason. They are getting SOMETHING out of it. As parents, we try to influence them to give up the bad behavior–we may use positive rewards, take away privileges, etc. in an attempt to change the behavior, but if the child clings to the “bad” behavior then there is something more that he or she is getting from it than what we’ve been able to offer. This is where the investigative part of parenting comes in as we try to determine the motivation for the child’s … Continue reading →

Prizes for Good Behavior?

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In a previous article, I discussed various procedures that teachers use to report behavior to parents. In addition to reporting a student’s behavior, a teacher must also manage a student’s behavior while the child is in the classroom. Teachers do this in many different ways. I can remember the standard way of monitoring student behavior while I was in school was the name and check system. If a child misbehaved, the teacher would write the child’s name on the board. If the child continued to misbehave he or she would receive check marks beside of his or her name. Today’s … Continue reading →

Ideas for Encouraging Summer Reading

Last week, I blogged about summer reading programs. If you don’t have access to a library offering such a program, or if your kids aren’t really excited about what’s being offered, you can design a program specifically tailored to your family. First, decide a reasonable goal. Some children really struggle with reading, while others could do it morning, noon, and night. If you are working with multiple children, set goals for each of them that will cause them to stretch, just a little bit, but aren’t so unattainable that the child will feel overwhelmed. Second, decide what the rewards will … Continue reading →

Single Parent Travels: Removing Rewards

Just as I believe that rewards should be given for good behavior, I also believe that things should be removed for negative behavior. I did have to do this a couple of times on our trip. Did it make him angry with me? Yes, for a short while, but then he realized that if he corrected his behavior, he would get whatever was taken away back, and would be able to keep it as long as he continued the positive behavior. We aren’t just talking “things” here either, though that was the most common towards the end of the trip, … Continue reading →