Rewarding Your Children with Material Rewards

What kinds of material rewards do you value? The list might include a nice home, clothes, jewellery, cars, perfume, and boats - just about anything money will buy! Of course children have their prized rewards too: sweets, biscuits, dolls, toys. Material rewards (as we use the term) are tangible objects that have some economic value.

There is another very important type of reward - the social variety. Social rewards are intangible, cost nothing, and there is no limit to the supply. Some of the most important rewards for children are attention, praise, smiles, affection, touching and laughter. When it comes to social rewards, it is interesting to note that adults respond to the same things that children like. In fact, most of our adult interactions and relationships are based upon social rewards.

There are also a few rewards that seem to fit into both categories, material objects that have primarily social value., such as gold stars, points, or marks. For adults, status, position, titles, and maybe even medals, qualify.
Social rewards are far more important than material rewards in changing behavior. Most of us would like to have lots of material possessions! Wealth can indeed make life easier, but happiness and feelings of satisfaction with life depend upon a great deal more than just material wealth. Social interactions - that is human relationships - give life its warmth and vitality. No one ever gets tired of friendship, love, appreciation, concern, or interest from others!

Never underestimate the power of social rewards. Long term change doesn't come about from sweets and biscuits or gold stars. Meaningful behavior change comes from relating to children with love and care.

Let us look at two situations involving school reports and social rewards. In the first set of cartoons, Len's Dad rather mechanically gave him a material reward. He showed little interest and no real enthusiasm except for the cash. Certainly Len will enjoy the money, but the human social reward, so important between father and son, seemed to be missing.

'The .use or non-use of money for school achievements is not really the issue here. Some parents feel happy about giving a 'bonus' for good marks, while others do not. The point is that, whether or not money is used, the real reward in terms of the parent-child relationship is the social reward. That is the one that will have the greatest long-term effects. We should note that the use of a material bonus for children's achievements is in no way different from what happens with many adults who get something special for a 'job well done'. Any kind of bonus is in part a social reward too, since it calls attention to the person's behavior and singles it out for recognition. But, like the child example, a bonus paid to Dad or Mum by the boss personally, with a pal on the back and a comment about how good a job has been done, will certainly have more effect than just a cheque that shows up in a pay envelope without comment.

One final observation concerning the parent who fails to use social rewards. We sometimes hear young people say, `My dad was OK I suppose but he didn't give anything of himself. Oh, he would give me money and buy me things, but there was no feeling between us,' Or from a father, 'After all I did for my son he still doesn't seem to respect but don't understand it. I bought him everything he wanted.' Obviously material rewards are not enough!

Parenting Articles Why Do Children Act the Way They Do | Each Child is Unique | How to Encourage Your Children to Talk to You | Parenting: Learning Experience | Rewarding Your Children with Material Rewards | Parents Do Have Influence | Children Imitate Their Parent's Role Model | Will Too Much Love Spoil Your Child | How to Reward Your Child | Parenting and Social Reward | Children Shoes Online | Cheap Toys for Kids | Baby Care Guide Online Parenting Tips How to Eliminate Undesirable Behavior | How to Approach Your Child in the Right Way | Parenting and Punishment | How to Praise Your Kids When They are Doing Right | Keeping Track of Your Child’s Behavior | How to Teach Your Child to Correct His Behavior Step by Step | How to Reward Your Child in the Correct Timing | Two Basic Rules for Rewarding Your Child | How to Make Your Message Clear to Your Child | How to Combine Punishment with Rewards