Rewarding Your Child with a Trampoline Day

Everyone can remember being treated to something as a child; it was that one special treat you received for behaving well. For example, if you got a good report card or got high marks from a teacher or a caregiver, your parents may have given you a treat for good behavior. In many instances, you were either given a delicious dessert, a later bedtime, or a fun outing. You then, out of instinct, associated good manners and behaviors with positive and uplifting things, making it far more likely that you would repeat your actions in the future.

In this blog, we will discuss some positive encouragements you can give your child so they learn good habits and behaviors. We hope this blog will be helpful, especially if it will inspire you to come up with new ways to treat your children for their good behavior.

Common Rewards

As stated, there are many common rewards parents will give their children. However, the reward does change depending on how significant the good behavior was. For instance, having good marks on your report cards would elicit a far larger reward than other smaller positive actions, such as brushing your teeth and combing your hair as a child. Though these are good behavioral actions, they aren’t demanding of a reward. And, some rewards are expected in a child’s everyday life, but taken away if they are acting poorly. This typically is the case for desserts or everyday benefits children get from their parents.

Desserts

Desserts are often used as a way to control childhood behaviors. For example, after dinner, most children will expect to get some type of treat, such as a piece of candy, chocolate, or ice cream. However, this positive reinforcement can be taken away from children when they misbehave. If your child is acting out, claiming that a benefit can be taken away will teach them not to repeat that specific behavior. After all, no one likes to have something of theirs taken away.

Children will always strive to do good deeds if they know they will get a present or a treat from the action. Any task you want them to do, say, cleaning their room, can be encouraged by a treat.

Later Bedtimes

Children are natural rebels. They want to stay up late and eat things they shouldn’t. Sometimes, if they have behaved well, you can let them stay up late and either watch TV or play with their toys. Either way, they are staying up past their bedtime and getting a thrill from the small bit of freedom. Though children don’t have to maintain a strict bedtime their whole lives, consistency is important. When children have routine in their lives, they are able to feel a sense of stability. When their bedtime is non-restrictive and unscheduled, this could lead to problems down the road.

For instance, if your child has an irregular bedtime, or their reward for good behavior is staying up late, they can assume that sleep is not that important. Because of this, your child can wake up the next morning feeling tired, cranky, and confused. Many times, when a child is tired, they won’t behave well or even listen to requests or commands. This, of course, doesn’t mean that your child regularly misbehaves. It simply means that they are tired and are easily irritated by things. As children, they don’t know how to release their frustration or even understand it; that is typically why tantrums will happen.

Negative Effects of These Benefits

Though sweet treats and late bedtimes are, in a child’s mind, great benefits — they aren’t exactly healthy for your child. For example, if your child repeatedly gets treats, such as candy and ice cream, when they are good, they can foster an unhealthy attachment to these things when they are older. Experiences, such as family outings, are a much more sustainable and healthy way to encourage your child to continue good behavior. For one, this benefit will allow them to appreciate activities and moments much more, rather than receiving quick satisfaction from something sugar-based.

Just as sugary treats can cause long-term problems, late bedtimes can be a problem as well. If you reward your child with a late bedtime, they will not only wake up tired but create a negative relationship with their bedtime. In fact, by treating your child with a later bedtime, you may make it more difficult to get your child to sleep every night. Unfortunately, they can relate good behavior with sleep. This, of course, will make it much harder to get them to sleep if they believe they have been good and deserve to go to sleep late.

Any parent will tell you that a child who doesn’t want to go to bed can be a big problem. After all, if your child doesn’t want to sleep, you won’t be able to get a wink. Children will stay up, make noise, and even shake you awake. It is best if to foster a good relationship with sleep and your child’s behavior, but making later bedtimes a reward is not always best.

Experiences and Physical Activities

If you would like to treat your child to a healthy reward, presenting them with fun, physical activities is best. When you treat your child with an experience, they are much more likely to value them and treasure them in positive ways. Also, by positively connecting rewards with physical activity, your child is much more likely to foster a good relationship with physical exercise when they grow up.
Putting a value on experiences rather than material or fast-satisfaction treats is much healthier for your child and will make them value other important things. However, though outings are valuable experiences, some parents struggle with finding places to take their children.

Rebounderz

Rebounderz is a safe, local indoor trampoline park that allows your child to bounce for hours. If you would like to treat your children with an experience they are likely never to forget, contact us today.