Why I Don’t Like Rewarding Children

I recently read something interesting about reward systems: The greater the reward for an activity, the more we’re programmed to believe we dislike the activity.

For instance, 2 groups of people were told to pick up rubbish in a park. One group was paid more than the other, and then both groups were asked how much they enjoyed the activity. The study found that the group which got paid more found the activity less enjoyable.

So the more someone is willing to reward us for something, the more we must dislike doing it right?

Probably. But does it apply to children? Well, in a childcare environment, I can’t exactly force children to go around picking up rubbish. And there’s not exactly a lot to offer them in terms of rewards either, nor can I survey them at the end!

Nonetheless, here are some of the experiences I’ve had with reward systems:

Reward Finished? Good Behaviour’s Finished Too!

The children were asked to sit down nicely, and whoever sat the nicest would be allowed to feed the fishes. One child who is normally very “strong-willed” thus sat extremely well, and was given the reward.

As soon as she had fed the fishes however, she started being disruptive and  challenging, and was put in time out within minutes!

Stickers, Pee And Poo

A less isolated incident would be a child’s toilet training experience, where he would be rewarded with stickers if he did well. This led up to the point that he would be eager to go to the toilet, and as soon as he’d performed his “task”, he would immediately demand a sticker.

Meanwhile, at home, not only did he have frequent accidents, but he actually hid under a table to do a poo!

Please feel free to share any success stories of your own though. On a separate note, the children actually enjoy picking up rubbish, because they like putting things in the bin.

I know, I’m not a big fan of either punishment OR rewards, so how do I get children to listen? I like the methods in the punishment article for instilling self-discipline, but it’s a gradual process which takes a lot of patience and effort. At least it feels like I’m building a proper relationship with the children, rather than just constantly threatening or bribing them.

3 Social Understanding Activities For Young Children

Social Understanding Is Important For Kids To Fit Into Society

I’ve always found that young children are just plain self-centred. Even before they are born they’re already showered with attention, and their favourite first words will be me, mine and more.

Therefore, when I was required to plan an activity for my 2-3 years old age group, I decided to focus on building social understanding. I haven’t actually done it yet, but here are some of the best ideas that I came across while looking for a good activity:

Follow The Leader

Here’s the activity I’m going to try, which is an easier version of Changing The Leader. The children will take turns being the leader, doing whatever actions they wish, and the others will have to mimic their actions. I hope this will build on their awareness of others, as right now they wouldn’t even notice if they’re stepping on one another.

Lead Me

What better way to build trusting relationships than with blindfolds? One child will be blindfolded, while another will be responsible for leading him from one point to another. I’d probably remove the ‘verbal instructions only’ though, as the children are a bit young.

All In

I’ve actually been through an activity like this myself. The children will be grouped together in a contained area, perhaps on top of cushions or a rope circle. The area is then made smaller by removing cushions or making the circle smaller. They will have to communicate with one another as well as be aware of others in order for them all to stay within the contained area.

Building social understanding takes time, and it’s hard to measure the results. Nevertheless, children always delight in new experiences, so at the very least I hope they’ll have fun, and maybe even make some new friends.

Lead Me

Men In Early Childhood Education: Why We Are Where We Are – Perhaps?

It’s not often that I come across a good, well-researched article on Men In Early Childhood Education. Therefore, when I read this article, I chased the author, Richard Harty, as well as Steve, the owner of the Foundation Stage Forum, for permission to post it here.

It took some time, and although I can’t copy the article here, it is now available to the public, so please click here and read it.

My favourite bit:

Although everybody agrees that there should be more men working in Early Years Childcare, it’s pretty hard to pinpoint exactly WHY there should be more men.

Discussions about the benefits of having more men in Early Years Childcare will begin with people saying things like ‘we are fortunate to have a man’, ‘the children love him’ or ‘I am a man and I do a good job’.

In other words, nothing really substantial.

From there, things normally descend into discussions about sexuality, pay, and negative misconceptions.

More words with little practical use in supporting the arguement for WHY we need more men in Early Years Childcare.

The Foundation Stage Forum

The Foundation Stage Forum, by the way, is an outstanding forum for Early Years Practitioners, with a very VERY friendly, helpful and active community.

I hope that someday, my own forum will be at least half as successful.

There’s a whole list of references towards the end of the article, for those who are interested. You won’t be able to join the discussion on the Foundation Stage Forum, however, unless you’re a member, so please feel free to voice your thoughts here.