12 Rewards for Kids

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I know the best way to reward kids is to praise them immediately following the good behavior. This recognition is a given at our house. However, sometimes I like to randomly surprise them and go above and beyond to recognize what they’ve done. Especially when they aren’t expecting it!

Call me crazy, but I’m tired of rewarding my kids with time to play video games or watch You Tube. Our life is becoming consumed with these two things! It’s all they ever want to do.

My solution? Let’s shake it up! Find creative rewards for kids. As I started looking around for ideas, I quickly realized that there isn’t much out there to inspire! Everything I came across was very classroom/school focused. Or I saw the same tired rewards I was already using. Boring!

So I guess that leaves it up to me to create my own list. Today, I’m sharing it with you! These are all simple ideas that are either free or cost less than $2. You can also combine them with my DIY Scratch Offs to have a really fun way to hand them out! It will be like winning the lottery.

Trip to the library – I saw this idea out there and loved it! It can be a simple trip to pick out some new books to read. There are also lots of fun activities that go on at a library (story times, arts & crafts, music). Schedules can typically be found on their website and offer other ways to fulfill this idea.
Picnic with Mom – I’m thinking simple here. Lunch or dinner out in the yard on a blanket. Just the 2 of us.
Stay up 30-minutes past bedtime.
Skip a chore – They get to pick one chore to opt out of. Maybe the next time you ask them to clean their room, they can opt out for that day. It means you likely have to step in and take over depending on the chore they select, but it’s only 1 chore…1 day.
Choose dinner – Offer up a choice of 2-3 things that you could make. Let them decide which one is for dinner tonight.
Dollar store trip – Let them pick out one thing they want. It could be a book, toy, candy, or drink.
Family fun night – Let them pick the movie, snack, board game, outside game. Bonus is you get to have family time included.
Take them for an ice cream cone.
Download a song of their choice on I-Tunes.
A trip to the park – Some 1-on-1 time at the park to take a walk, go to the playground, or do another activity together.
Sleep over with Mom – If you have a pull out couch, you could make it a slumber party there. A blow up mattress in your room. Or let them climb in bed with you. My kids go crazy for sleeping in my room!
Scratch off lottery tickets or cash (thinking $1).