75: The Truth About Rewards, Stars, Stickers, and Points with Megg Thompson

Are We Training Kids to Perform? The Truth About Rewards, Behaviour & Connection with Megg Thompson.

We’ve all used them—sticker charts, gold stars, rewards for good behaviour. But what if these systems aren’t actually helping kids grow? What if they’re just training them to comply? (And then when we're not around, they stop "performing" because the motivation was never really theirs to begin with...)

In this episode, I sit down with Megg Thompson, a former Kindergarten teacher turned neuro-affirming Certified Behavior Consultant and Life Coach, to unpack the real impact of rewards and compliance-based parenting and teaching.

We dive into:

✨ Why kids "hold it together" at school but melt down at home

✨ The hidden problems with reward charts and behavior incentives

✨ Why compliance shouldn’t be the goal—and what to focus on instead

✨ How traditional discipline alienates neurodivergent and struggling kids

✨ What actually works to build cooperation, trust, and connection

Megg brings her signature humour and deep insight to a conversation that will challenge what you think you know about kids’ behaviour.

Also, she made me keep in the drunk-squirrel moments she and I had around 22-23 min mark - enjoy listening to us rack our brains when she lost her train of thought!

If you're ready to shift from power-over to partnership, ditch the rewards, and start building real, lasting connection with your kids—this episode is a must-listen.

Find Megg Thompson here:

http://www.instagram.com/meggthompsonbehavior

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn5Q6ZPasX6ebCZ59ClM4qw

https://meggthompson.com/

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If this resonates with you, I'd love to hear from you. Email us at hello@stephaniepinto.com and send me your thoughts, feedback or questions!

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Hi! I am an Emotional Intelligence best-selling author, award-winning coach and international speaker. I'm also a paediatric anxiety therapist (and previous speech language pathologist!) and I love helping people use emotional intelligence to become calmer, more connected and live happier lives!

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