Do reward charts work?

They can help start a habit, especially for young children and for jobs they do not enjoy. Research on motivation shows that expected rewards can lower interest in activities children already like, so keep charts short and add praise (Deci, Koestner and Ryan, 1999).

What rewards for a reward chart?

Small, quick and agreed in advance: choosing dinner, an extra story, a trip to the park, a small toy. The chart shows ideas from our catalog of 150 rewards, filtered by age.

How long should a reward chart last?

Until it is full. Then decide together: a new chart for the same habit, a new habit, or no chart once the habit runs on its own. Young children need short charts; older children can wait longer for a bigger reward.

Sticker chart or points?

Stickers suit young children: they see and touch the progress. From school age, points or stars that add up toward a reward work well, and they let children save for something bigger. Kidventures uses stars for that.

Reward chart

Reward chart for kids: make and print one in 1 minute

Choose what to practise, how many boxes and the reward: print it and add a sticker each time.

Age

What to practise (1 to 3)

Brush your teeth

Ideas for this age

Boxes to fill

Suggested for this age: 10

The reward

Ideas for this age

Or write your own

Colour

Paper

Names and words you type stay in this browser until you save the chart to your family.

My reward chart

Name

I am practising

Brush your teeth

When all the boxes are full

Pick the bedtime story

How we use it

1. We agree on the reward before we start.
2. A sticker comes right after the good moment.
3. Stickers that are earned stay on the chart.

Chore ideas and guides at kidventures.app

In the print window, choose "Save as PDF" as the printer to keep a file.

In short

A reward chart works best with 1 to 3 clear behaviours, a number of boxes your child can fill before losing interest, and a reward agreed in advance. Give the sticker right after the behaviour, never take earned stickers away, and plan to stop once the habit is there.

How to use it

Set the age and pick 1 to 3 things to practise, from the ideas or in your own words (they stay in your browser).
Keep the suggested number of boxes or change it, then choose a reward from the ideas or write your own.
Print it, put it where your child can see it and add a sticker each time.

Worked example: a 4 year old and teeth brushing

Set the age to 4 and pick "Brush your teeth": the chart suggests 5 boxes. As a reward, pick something small from the ideas for this age, such as "Pick the bedtime story".

Brush together morning and evening and add a sticker right after each brush. With 2 brushes a day, 5 boxes fill in 3 days, which suits a 4 year old. Then start a new chart with the same reward or a new one.

How many boxes, and how fast the reward

Young children live in the present: a reward weeks away means little to a 3 year old. The chart suggests 5 boxes up to age 4, 10 from 5 to 8 and 20 from 9 to 12. These are practical defaults: change them so your child can win.

When the chart stops working

Charts often lose their pull after a few weeks. Check that the behaviour is small and clear, that the reward still matters to your child and that stickers come right away. Expected, tangible rewards can reduce children's own interest in things they already enjoy (Deci, Koestner and Ryan, 1999), so keep charts for habits your child does not enjoy yet, and add honest praise.

When to stop the chart

Stop when the habit runs on its own for a while: fewer stickers, then praise only. The American Academy of Pediatrics mentions charts and stickers as reasonable tools for building responsibility, alongside praise. Our guide to reward systems covers what comes next.

Questions parents ask

Do reward charts work?
They can help start a habit, especially for young children and for jobs they do not enjoy. Research on motivation shows that expected rewards can lower interest in activities children already like, so keep charts short and add praise (Deci, Koestner and Ryan, 1999).
What rewards for a reward chart?
Small, quick and agreed in advance: choosing dinner, an extra story, a trip to the park, a small toy. The chart shows ideas from our catalog of 150 rewards, filtered by age.
How long should a reward chart last?
Until it is full. Then decide together: a new chart for the same habit, a new habit, or no chart once the habit runs on its own. Young children need short charts; older children can wait longer for a bigger reward.
Sticker chart or points?
Stickers suit young children: they see and touch the progress. From school age, points or stars that add up toward a reward work well, and they let children save for something bigger. Kidventures uses stars for that.

More free tools

Stars that add up on their own

Kids see their stars grow toward the reward you set together, and you approve in 1 tap. Free for up to 2 kids.

Start free

Sources

Checked on October 17, 2026