Open the app

Rewards and sticker charts

Whether you use rewards, like stickers or treats, to encourage behavior, or avoid them.

Should we use rewards and sticker charts?

In short: Parents choose between 4 main approaches: Planned reward systems (CDC); Occasional incentives for hard tasks; Spontaneous rewards only; None (Kohn, Nelsen, Kennedy). Evidence: experts disagree. Credible bodies or researchers disagree — decide whose guidance you'll weigh. Best settled: toddler.

Evidence
Experts disagree
Best settled
Toddler
Part of
Raising the child

Rewards and sticker charts: what are the options?

Parents usually land on one of these 4 approaches.

  1. 1. Planned reward systems (CDC)

    You set up a chart or system where good behavior earns points or prizes.

  2. 2. Occasional incentives for hard tasks

    You offer a reward now and then for something especially hard.

  3. 3. Spontaneous rewards only

    You give a treat on the spur of the moment, never promised ahead.

  4. 4. None (Kohn, Nelsen, Kennedy)

    You do not use rewards for behavior.

Rewards and sticker charts: what does the evidence say?

Experts disagree. Credible bodies or researchers disagree — decide whose guidance you'll weigh.

Kohn argues rewards undermine intrinsic motivation; no head-to-head trial in typical families was found

Sources

What else is worth knowing?

Rewards can get quick results, especially for a specific hard task. Critics say children then work for the prize rather than because the thing matters. The two sides are often measuring different outcomes: short-term cooperation or long-term motivation.

Questions to ask each other

  • How do you feel about rewarding good behavior?
  • Would we use treats or stickers to get through hard things like potty training?
  • How would we avoid a reward becoming something our child expects?

More in Discipline and behavior

First published 2026-10-03. Last updated 2026-10-05. General information, not medical advice.