Oh, What To Do

Parents regularly resort to bribes ("rewards") to encourage good behavior. They buy a desired item and dangle it in front of the child ... And then suggest a swap. Good behavior = toy (or other desired object). I've seen sticker charts, where a kid who does a certain amt of desired behaviors gets a reward upon completion. In the case of a challenging kid ... Parents beg for a few moments of good behavior in exchange for a reward.

But ... What if your kid is ALWAYS good? And what if you always find cute things you want to buy them? There is no reason to have them work toward the item because they always do what they're told? Do you simply just keep handing them the things you find? Do they then not learn the value of reward? Or do they not learn that some things require patience ... That sometimes you have to wait for good things?

People are always complaining about how much trouble their kids are. But what about those that suffer from kids that are just too good? Doesn't anyone feel bad for us?

:)