A reward system for kids that fits your family
A reward system for kids links clearly described tasks with rewards you have agreed together. You need clear agreements for this: Which task is completed, how many points does it earn and what can those points be redeemed for? Also agree when to redeem them. This helps your children follow the path from a task to a specific wish. You decide together which rewards belong on the list.
Start with the children's wishes
First collect ideas that your children would look forward to. A pizza night together, an outing or time for a favourite game can all be on the same list. Then look at what you can and want to offer in practice.
Clarify what an idea means in practice straight away. A cinema night, for example, includes deciding who chooses the film and when you have time for it. For an outing, timing and effort matter. A reward should still be manageable for you when it is redeemed.
Ask the children what they want before you finalise the list. A wish that adults find attractive may not have the same value for a child. Different children can therefore have different goals.
From our family: pizza night, bike rides and playtime
In our family, rewards include pizza night, cinema night, phone time, Switch time and screen time. We also include going out for ice cream, a bike ride and going out for a meal together. We discussed the rewards with the children so they fit our family and include things the children actually want.
Our family responds well to these rewards. For us, the game element in the app only makes sense when the rewards are chosen to fit and the children actually want to work towards them.
Pocket money seems to us the simplest form of reward. It is important to us to have different options and to be able to choose shared experiences too. We want this to support family life rather than judging everything only in terms of money.
This list is a glimpse into our family. You can develop your own list from it and check together after a while which wishes are still current. A shared evening is often easier to agree precisely than a very general “big outing”: What will you do, who will be there and when will it happen?
Set tasks and points out clearly
First agree which tasks you want to link to points. Describe what a task includes and, if needed, show together once how to do it. Find more in the guide Chores by age.
Then decide how many points a task earns. Consider its scope and what the child in question can manage. A small daily task and a larger weekly contribution do not need to have the same value. The decision should be clear to everyone involved.
Work through one wish together. A freely chosen example: If an agreed task earns five points and a reward costs twenty points, it takes four such completions. These numbers are not a DOTOG rule. They show how you can check whether a reward is reachable with the tasks on offer.
For your agreement, four details are enough to start:
- The task, with a clear description.
- The points agreed for it.
- The specific reward and its points cost.
- When and how it will be redeemed.
Also work through possible misunderstandings: Does a task count if it is only partly completed? What happens if two people helped together? Agree these things as a family. They should be clear before the children start collecting points.
Tasks and rewards in a family app
If you use a family task app for this, tasks, the points balance and possible rewards should be clear. Completing a task increases the balance. Redeeming a reward uses the points set for it. This distinction matters so everyone knows how the available balance changes.
In DOTOG, points earned for tasks are also displayed as stars. Redeeming a reward deducts its agreed cost from the available points balance. Your family then carries out the reward itself, such as a pizza night or bike ride.
Agree when redemptions are discussed and when the chosen experience can happen. A fixed date may fit your weekly routine. Another family may want to redeem small wishes straight away. Choose a process you can keep up in everyday life.
Our weekly routine with screen time
Our children collect points from their tasks to redeem the agreed daily phone or screen time for the following week. For us, this means the full amount of time agreed in that way. The points collected are used for this redemption.
We usually approve the reward on Sunday or Monday. The children then have their fixed daily phone or screen time for the following week. They know exactly what their rewards are. This routine now works well and is familiar in our family.
This is our personal family rule. It is not general advice about how long children should use media. Discuss which times and content are suitable for your children separately from any points total. Only then can you decide whether screen time should be one of your rewards at all.
You can agree a set process for other rewards too. A redeemed cinema night, for example, needs a specific date. If the planned day does not work, agree together when to make it up. This keeps the redemption agreement clear.
When collecting or redeeming does not work well
Look at the specific point where things are getting stuck. Is the task clear? Does it fit the child's abilities? Are there enough suitable tasks to reach the desired reward? Is the child still interested in the wish? Or is redemption too far in the future?
You can adjust the next round accordingly: split a large task into smaller steps, add a different reward or make the redemption process more precise. Discuss changes before the new agreement takes effect.
Do not casually change an agreed points value while a child is saving for exactly that goal. If you want to revise a value, discuss what will happen to the existing points balance and the goal already chosen. The agreement should remain clear to everyone.
From our family:
If a task was not completed, no points can be collected for it. We do not make a big drama out of it. For us, it is part of looking together at which tasks come up over a week. The prospect of the agreed rewards matters a great deal to our children.
If a child does not want to take on a task, you can talk about the task, its scope and your agreement. Points do not replace that conversation.
Keep the shared list up to date
Bring your reward list into your weekly planning from time to time. Which wishes have been redeemed? What are you currently saving for? Is there anything no one wants any more? Do you still have the time and opportunity to carry out the promised things?
You do not need a new reward every week. If pizza night, playtime or a bike ride are still popular, they can stay on the list. Add new wishes after agreeing them together.
Discuss task sharing in the same context. A reward system does not decide on its own who takes on which share of the household. You can find a concrete routine in the guide Share tasks fairly with a household planner app.
Start with a manageable agreement
For your first try, choose a few clearly described tasks and a small selection of rewards that genuinely interest your children. Work through one example together and decide how redemption will work. Then use your own week to decide what you want to keep or change.
DOTOG Help explains how to use the app and the current tariffs. Information about child accounts is available under Child Safety Standards. Choosing the tasks and the rewards themselves remains a shared family agreement.
Sources and our experience
- Our experiences and approach from the family life behind DOTOG, discussed on 7 and 8 September 2026. The reward choices and screen time rule come from these discussions.
- The other steps are practical suggestions for your family agreements.