How many points should a reward cost?
Price a reward too low and your child stops trying once they have it. Price it too high and they give up halfway. Here is the simple rule we use, and a price list you can borrow.
Start from an ordinary good week, not a perfect one
Before you set any price, look at the chart and ask: how many points does my child earn in a normal good week? Not the week where every circle is filled — the week where they did most things, missed a few and had one rough day.
The easiest way to know is to run the chart for one week before you announce the goal. If you can't wait, take the most points a perfect week could earn and use about half of it.
The 3-to-4-week rule
A goal should take about 3 good weeks for younger kids (7–10) and about 4 good weeks for teens. Long enough that the prize feels earned. Short enough that they can see the finish line from the start.
The formula: points in an ordinary good week × 3 (ages 7–10) or × 4 (teens) = the price of the goal.
On our free charts, an ordinary good week is roughly 30 points on the kids' chart and 60 on the teen chart. That's where the suggested goals come from: 90 points for kids and 250 points for teens.
A price list you can borrow
Most families do best with one big goal plus a few small treats along the way, so there's always something within reach.
| Size | Kids 7–10 | Teens | Ideas |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (about 1 week) | 25–30 | 50–60 | Choose dinner, a later bedtime on Friday, 30 extra minutes of a favorite game |
| Medium (3–4 weeks) | 90 | 250 | A small toy or book, a trip somewhere they love, a sleepover, a new game |
| Big (2–3 months) | 250+ | 650+ | Concert tickets, sports gear, a piece of tech they've wanted for a long time |
Big goals work, but only once your child is used to the chart. Our son's first goal was 250 points, and he reached it in four weeks — watching the jar fill every week kept him going. Start with a medium goal, and save the big ones for the second or third round.
Five pricing mistakes to avoid
- Raising the price mid-goal. Once the price is written at the top of the chart, it's a promise. Change it only for the next goal.
- Taking back points already earned because of an unrelated argument. If you use deductions, they belong on the chart, agreed in advance.
- Pricing in money. "100 points = $10" turns the chart into a job. Let points buy experiences and things, not cash.
- A goal your child didn't choose. The prize has to be something they want, or the points mean nothing.
- Never adjusting. After two weeks, check: if they're on track to finish in 10 days or in 3 months, adjust the next goal, not this one.
What happens when they reach it
Celebrate it properly — that moment is what makes the next goal work. Award the prize quickly (a delayed reward feels like a broken promise), keep any extra points as a head start on the next goal, and let your child choose what comes next.