I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what we are doing to reward good behavior. What I realized is that most of our parenting is about bribing or threatening versus true rewards. If you are good at the store…if you don’t stop right now…then fill in the blanks. Trying to entice good behavior.

In the working world, many companies have recognition programs that include the idea of catching someone in the act of doing something good (sorry this is my former Human Resources self jumping in). In most instances it is a manager or a customer that can decide, on the spot, to recognize the person for what they’ve done. The reward itself comes as a surprise, after the behavior has happened.

So I started thinking about how I can change my style of parenting to have rewards that follow the behavior. That way I’m rewarding them for behaviors they are choosing on their own, versus having them appease me in the short term to get what I’ve dangled as a carrot.

Of course just praising them works! But I wanted something more fun. As I was walking through Dollar General (I seem to do that a lot), I found it! Personalized scratch offs. My kids LOVE scratch off lottery tickets so this was brilliant!

The only problem? They were on the clearance aisle. There were only a few there, which means I likely won’t be able to get them again. I realized the only logical option was to figure out how to make them myself! I love a good DIY project.

While this may sound complicated or difficult, I promise you it’s not! All you need is the included printable for Scratch Off Rewards, dish soap, acrylic paint ($1 at Walmart), a cup, a paint brush, and packing tape.

Steps to Make Scratch Off Rewards

1. Print the included scratch off reward cards (link above). Or create your own. Tip: Thicker card stock is best.
2. Write your rewards in each box.
3. Place a piece of packing tape over what you have written.
4. Mix equal parts dish soap and paint in a plastic cup. I’d recommend starting with 1 teaspoon of each.
5. Lightly paint a layer over the box you’ve written in. You will likely need 3-4 light coats to completely cover your writing. I let it dry 20-30 minutes between each coat.

That’s it! I have my rewards for randomly catching them with good behavior!

Now to wait until they demonstrate that behavior without prompting…I may be waiting a while. Haha!

How do you reward good behavior?