Positive Reinforcement: Does it really help motivate kids?

When I worked in the school systems, rewards and behavior charts were a common practice. Even in my training to be a therapist, “positive reinforcement” was often a go-to strategy for managing behaviors and motivating kids to do “non-preferred” tasks.

The problem was that for a lot of kids it didn’t work. And what was even worse…sometimes it worked TEMPORARILY, but as soon as the reward went away, so did the motivation to do the task.

It left me wondering if relying on external rewards is really helping to build the skills kids need to be independent, intrinsically motivated, responsible people with a good work ethic.

I also found myself wondering if “motivation” (or lack there of) was really the problem in the first place.

That’s why in this episode I talk about motivation and positive reinforcement for kids who procrastinate, rush through work, struggle to stay organized, or who show impulsive behaviors (often associated with ADHD and related conditions).

Specifically, I share:

✅Why using rewards often doesn’t work when kids are procrastinating and refusing to do work.

✅Why “motivation” is often misunderstood, and why there’s more to the story when kids appear “lazy” or “defiant”.

✅The set of skills that are often the “missing link” when kids aren’t consistently responding to positive reinforcement.

If you aren’t sure how to support kids in completing homework assignments, chores, or other daily tasks; then you’ll get a lot of insight out of listening to this episode. If you’re a parent who wants to set your kids up for success as adults, then then you’re going to love my free parent guide, which I mentioned in this episode. In this guide, I share the set of skills that kids need in order to stay organized, focused, and motivated during their day-to-day tasks like chores and homework.

You can sign up for the guide here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/parentguide

The De Facto Leaders podcast was formerly the “Are they 18 yet?®” podcast. As of November 2022, the name of the show has changed, and we’ve shifted from a focus on parenting to a focus on supporting clinicians and educators to design effective services for kids (but parents are still welcome to listen). Episodes published before November 24, 2022 will still contain some of our old branding. 

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. 

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