Using Food as a Reward

Two facts:

• 88 percent of Kentucky schools use food as rewards for good behavior and academic performance.
• Pizza, candy, soft drinks and ice cream are the most common food rewards

Advantages of Using Food as a Reward in Classrooms:

• Easy
• Inexpensive
• Can bring about short-term behavior change

Disadvantages of Using Food as a Reward:

• Classroom learning about nutrition will remain strictly theoretical if schools regularly model unhealthy behaviors.
• Foods commonly used as rewards can contribute to health problems for children: obesity, diabetes, hypertension and cavities. These diseases are increasing rapidly among Kentucky children.
• Rewarding students with food can interfere with children learning to eat in response to hunger and satiety cues.
• Food preferences for both sweet and non-sweet food increase significantly when foods are presented as rewards (Birch and Fisher 1994). In other words, we may be teaching children to prefer unhealthy foods.
• Schools are institutions designed to model appropriate behaviors to children.

Kentucky Teachers' Suggestions for Alternatives

Elementary School Students

• Make deliveries to office
• Teach class
• Sit by friends
• Eat lunch with teacher
• Play favorite game
• Stickers
• Fun video
• Extra recess
• School supplies
• Trip to treasure box filled with non-food items
• Paperback book
• Show-and-tell
• Teacher reads special book to class
• Bank system; earn play money to be used for privileges
• Teacher performs special skill: cart wheel, guitar playing

Middle School Students

• Sit with friends
• Listen to music while working at desk
• Five-minute chat break at end of class
• Reduced homework
• Extra credit
• Fun video
• Computer time
• Assemblies
• Field trips
• Eat lunch outside, or have class outside

High School Students

• Extra credit
• Fun video
• Reduced homework
• Coupons to video stores, music stores, movies (donated)
• Drawings for donated prizes among students who meet certain grades standards
• A few minutes of "free choice" time at end of class period

Food for Thought:

"Rewards can be abused and overused. Too often students come to expect something in return for behavior or good grades when in reality they should do the behavior for it intrinsic value."

-- A Middle School Teacher in Fayette County