by Charlie Brooks posted in Parenting

In my short parenting experience, bribery stands out as one of the most effective tools I possess. Dangling a treat or even some money in front of children can turn them into model citizens, at least for a short while. But why resort to bribery when I can install a points system instead"
Making parenting a game
A few weeks ago, I decided to give out points instead of actual rewards to motivate my kids. I introduced this new system by simply telling my kids, ?You get five points!" when they did something right. I expected them to be excited, but I also expected them to ask what the points were for.
They didn?t ask then, nor did they ask for the first week or so that I gave points out. This worked nicely for me, because the points don?t mean anything ? I never intended them to be something the kids could trade in. I?ll let Drew Carey explain further: https://www.youtube.com/watch"v=9KAGwNtI26w
When the jig is up
After a while of this, my son finally asked what the points stood for. At first I simply answered, ?Pride.? After some further pressing, I came clean and admitted that they meant nothing. I figured my little social experiment was done for. Except it wasn?t.
It?s been a few weeks now, and I still give out points. My kids know darned well that they can?t buy anything or win anything with these points. Yet they still get invested in the game. My son especially cares about having more than his sister. If he starts run...