Do Reward Charts Work?
Reward Charts (sometimes, more formally, referred to as ‘token economy’ systems) are a strong tool in a parent or carer’s toolbox for changing behaviour. In a reward chart, a child is able to earn tokens (in the form of ticks, stickers or physical tokens) which they can exchange for a specific reward when completed enough times. For example, a child may be working towards a new toy, voucher or pocket money by engaging in specific behaviours such as helping with household chores or doing their homework.
These can be a very powerful tool for creating behaviour change. By identifying activities and items that motivate the child, we can encourage certain behaviours to occur more frequently than they otherwise would do. This can support the child to learn new skills and practice good habits. They can be implemented without specialist input in some cases, without behavioural assessment or formulation.
Reward charts work because of positive reinforcement. When a behaviour gets a good outcome, it is more likely to be repeated in the future. As such, if the child gets something that they enjoy as a result of doing something that we’ve asked them to, it makes them more likely to do it again in the future.
However, there are a few pitfalls that we can come across when putting reward charts in place, so it’s important that we consider how to make them as effective as possible.
Low reward, high effort
Positive reinforcement works based on a trade-off between two outcomes. If one outcome is better than the other, it’s more likely to be selected. So it’s important that we consider the level of effort needed from the child in order to complete the task, compared to the level of reward that they get. For example, a child is given the option of either cleaning their room or gaming, the reward for cleaning their room has to be great enough that it outweighs the enjoyment obtained from gaming.
To make them valuable, we need to consider the quality and quantity of the reward. Let’s take pocket money, for example - it tends to be high quality, because it can be used to buy whatever the child is motivated by, and it gives them freedom of choice. However, it would only be effective if the amount of money is great enough. For one child, cleaning their room might be really difficult and exhausting, so they might need more pocket money as a reward for completing this. Getting a penny for cleaning a bedroom probably isn’t going to be enough for most children!
Similarly, money might not be a suitable option for many parents, particularly in today’s cost of living crisis - and it’s definitely not the only option available. Rewards can be in the form of items and money, but they can also be offered in the form of experiences; spending time together, going somewhere new, or building time for connection. Although these are things to prioritise more generally, reward charts can be an opportunity to earn activities and experiences that are not usually on offer. Whatever the reward, it’s important that it is high quality and abundant in quantity.
Waiting too long to deliver the reward
With reward charts, it’s important for the child to come into contact with the reward quickly. This draws a clear and tangible relationship between doing the thing they’ve been asked to do, and the reward that they get as a result. Particularly for neurodiverse children where delayed gratification and waiting can be more difficult.
It’s often better to start with a few number of ‘tokens’ in exchange for the reward - for example, even just cleaning their room once might earn a trip to the park to begin with. Over time, as the child starts to get into the routine of doing what they’ve been asked to do, and they have experienced the joy of the reward, they are more likely to continue - and at this stage, you can build the requirement for two, three, or even more room cleans in exchange for the reward.
Expecting too much too quickly can result in the child losing interest, and not engaging in the desired behaviour at all. If that happens, it may be helpful to consider reducing the number of responses needed to obtain the reward, starting over, and building up more slowly. Alternatively, you might consider the quality and quantity of the reward, as above - increasing the quality and quantity of the reward means the child is more motivated to work towards it for a longer period of time in order to achieve it.
Understanding WHY the behaviour is not occurring already
There’s a common theme across all of our blog articles - all behaviour happens for a reason. Sometimes, small changes to the way we do things can make a bigger difference than reward charts. For example, if a child with sensory differences won’t hoover their bedroom because they don’t like the noise, a reward chart is not going to be anywhere near as effective as offering ear defenders and regular sensory breaks.
If we use a reward chart without understanding why the behaviour is occurring, it doesn’t help us to identify the unmet need - it only forces the child to tolerate something that they would otherwise not be comfortable with. And this might backfire in other areas - if a child is being forced to tolerate a sensory experience that is uncomfortable, that’s likely to result in them having a meltdown later in the day.
It’s better for us to understand WHY the desired behaviour is occurring, and to use the reward chart as a way of encouraging the child to learn different ways of responding. For example, rather than a reward chart focussing on “not hitting his sister”, it might instead be worded as “telling mummy when he’s upset”. This encourages him to use vocal language instead, and when he realises that this is an effective way of getting his needs met, he will be much more likely to continue doing it. This also gives you a way of being able to reduce the need for ongoing rewards - eventually, the reward becomes the fact that mummy fixes things and makes things better, and that will be enough to encourage the child to continue coming to her in order to seek support, problem-solving and regulation.
What if it STILL doesn’t work?
Sometimes, it can be really difficult to understand WHY the behaviour. You might be stuck delivering the rewards, with no clear path on how to reduce them. Or you might be delivering the rewards, and it might be having no effect at all.
In this case, a behavioural assessment and intervention plan can be a key part of the picture.
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