If you're worried your home will quickly fill up with trinkets, or that you'll have to spend a small fortune stocking your General Store with rewards your kids will love and that will get them to pitch in as a family, consider using privileges instead of things when it's time to stock your “shop” and reward your little ones! Here are all the privilege coupons that come free with your store, plus a few extra ideas you can add depending on your kids' ages and interests.
Small privileges from the General Store
- Good for breakfast in bed
- Good for one item of your choice at the grocery store (finally, a chance for your kids to pick those sugary cereals or chips you always say no to!)
- Good for a round of your favourite game (no excuses, your child gets to choose!)
- Good for skipping a chore
- Good for building a fort with Mom or Dad and having a snack in it (and why not settle in with popcorn and candy to watch a movie?)
- Good for dinner or lunch in front of the TV
- Good for falling asleep to music (worried it will bother the rest of the family? Give them special permission to use your phone and headphones!)
- Good for a second bedtime story
- Good for 15 minutes of video games or tablet time (here, naturally, your child decides which game to play – within your limits, of course!)
- Good for a picnic in the living room
- Good for having a friend over for the afternoon (if your kids already have friends over regularly, offer them the privilege of inviting a friend for a special activity instead!)
- Good for choosing the menu for the next meal (this is your child's chance to pick the boxed mac and cheese or chicken nuggets they love but you rarely serve!)
- Good for pushing bedtime back 20 minutes
- Good for breakfast instead of lunch (or dinner, of course!)
- Good for 30 extra minutes of TV
- Good for a double helping of dessert
- Good for a snack whenever you like (do you usually let your kids snack whenever they want, but only on fruit or cheese? Just this once, let them have the less “healthy” snack you usually say no to!)
- Good for a candlelight dinner
Big privileges from the General Store
More ideas
- Cook a special recipe with Dad or Mom (psst! You'll find plenty of recipe ideas to cook together in our Family Manager subscription!)
- Have a pillow fight or a paper snowball fight
- Go for a walk in the dark with headlamps or flashlights
- Go on a treasure hunt you've prepared or bought (you'll find some that are almost ready to play here (in French)!)
- Redecorate their bedroom
- Spend a day saying “yes” to everything (within reason and your budget, of course!)
Your kids will surely have plenty of other suggestions for you! Don't hesitate to let them decide for themselves which privileges they'd like to find in the General Store; they'll be all the more motivated for it!
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