We want them to find some level of internal satisfaction in what they do, whether it’s homework, cleaning, playing, etc. This is what most of us report wanting for our kids. Generally people have at least a few things that they feel this way about and many other things they don’t feel this way about (and probably many of them are things we were rewarded for as children). Didn’t need any type of external reward for them. I could sit and spend hours doing them simply because I enjoyed them. As a child I was the same with puzzles or logic problems or math problems. But I loved writing the articles and doing the research and just expanding my own mind in the process – I was intrinsically motivated. No one was really coming to the site and it certainly didn’t make money (though that hasn’t changed too much). If I take EP, as an example, when I started writing, I had no external rewards. This is where the concept of intrinsic motivation comes into play.įor those unaware, the term “intrinsic motivation” refers to the idea that some activities provide their own inherent reward or enjoyment, and thus motivation to do these activities is not based on external rewards or control. They want their child to internalize the acts so they do it on their own and you can eventually get rid of that nasty chart and the rewards that go with it. And not just feel-good rewards, but extrinsic, tangible rewards of things they want.īut what if there isn’t this reward? Most parents don’t want to have to keep giving rewards for cleaning up or doing homework.

Well, I suppose it is if you always have a reward and you can guarantee that your children will always be rewarded for what they do. When there is a reward, children will work towards that goal, sometimes even harder than they might if there were no reward. The idea is that children will receive a reward which will reinforce the behaviour you desire. The basis of reward charts stems from early behaviourist theory (yes, the same theory that told us holding children too much will spoil them or that you need to ‘condition’ your child to not cry at night by not responding).

Childrens star charts free printable