Using Food as a Reward
Food Rewards in School
- Rewards are commonly used by teachers from all grade levels to incentivize good behavior or academic achievement for their students
- It is common practice to give "special treats" when students do well academically or exhibit exemplary behavior
- Teachers may also withhold these treats from those students who do not display appropriate behavior
- These rewards are often in the form of high sugar and/or high fat foods such as:
- Cookies
- Donuts
- Pizza
- Sweetened drinks
Consequences to Rewarding Children with Food
- Encourages liking and intake of unhealthy foods
- Children learn to correlate food with emotion
- Teaches children to depend on extrinsic motivation
- Can lead to overeating foods high in salt, fat and sugar
- May develop patterns to reward themselves with food
- Reinforce unhealthy eating behaviors
- Conflicts with nutrition concepts taught in the classroom
- Can decrease children's internal self-regulation skills
- Did you know? Research has indicated that people who were incentivized with food in childhood reported to continue to use food to reward themselves as young adults, and had significantly higher BMIs compared to those who were not rewarded with food during childhood.
Alternatives to Food Rewards
- Praise your students throughout the day:
- Acknowledge good behavior or academic achievement
- Tip: Try not to compare to others with less desirable behavior
- Offer experiences as rewards:
- Go on class nature walks if possible
- Provide extra playtime
- Have class dance parties
- Play a fun game with your class
