Rewarding good behavior is a great way to encourage children to be the best they can be. There are so many different ways to reward them. I have tried a variety of ways with my kids. We have done everything between sticker charts, a treasure chest filled with little trinkets and prizes that they just think are the coolest thing to a simple candy dish to reward them.

I have found that with my older children it was very fulfilling for them to receive any sort of prize or candy they just wanted the simple satisfaction of acknowledgement for their behavior and helpfulness around our house.

However my 6-year-old twins love the competition when it comes to this acknowledgement. This year they are in first grade and all of the first grade teachers have color charts. The highest level on the color charts is pink. When they achieve the pink level they get a little piece of paper sent home telling their parents how wonderful they have been. This is something that is noted daily in their agenda books and parents have to sign it every night after school. I decided to try this little maneuver at our house. They absolutely love it! Every day they get to color in their little box as to which color they achieved that present day and they are just thrilled with it. Then they constantly tell the other twin how they got a “green or pink day” at school and at home. We have been doing this since school started this year and I have to say I am very happy with it myself. Everyone seems to want to behave to get a good color on his or her chart. It is also great to know that kids don’t always need to receive a prize just for acting the way they are supposed to.

In society today everyone expects so much and just a simple color chart satisfying them just right, we are all happy and smiling and praising them for such good behavior. It’s the little simple things that count.