These printable reward tickets for kids are a great way to set up your own ticket reward system! Just print, cut, and laminate to re-use the tickets again and again for good behavior!
I was doing laundry a few weeks ago and noticed a bunch of tickets in the pocket of my daughter’s jeans. They looked like little “Admit One” tickets you would get at a carnival, so of course, I was curious about them. My daughter told me that teachers and staff at her school randomly pass out those reward tickets to kids that are “caught” reading.
The program is actually called “You’ve Been Caught Reading”, and it’s a way to reward kids for staying on task and reading quietly during bus hall or in class. At the end of each grading period, kids that have earned enough tickets get to go to a popsicle party.
But that gave me an idea… I could reward my kids with similar reward tickets for things that I see them doing around the house, whether it’s doing an extra chore or helping their siblings. And then, when they earn enough tickets, they can cash them in for special treats like a new book or a trip to the ice cream shop.
So, of course, I had to create my own cute printable reward tickets for kids!
If this reward system seems like something that would work with your little ones, then read on for tips on how to use reward tickets and grab the printable tickets at the end of this post!
*This post contains affiliate links, which means if you click a link and make a purchase, I earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Read my full disclosure for more info.
Ideas for Creating a Ticket Reward System for Kids
There are a few different ways you can use reward tickets to incentivize positive behavior and let kids earn allowance money or other treats. Pick one of these ideas that you feel would work best for your family and your kids’ personalities, or create your own system.
You could even get your kids involved in setting up the reward system for your family by asking for their suggestions on how best to use the tickets. That way, they feel more committed to the system because they helped to create it.
Here are some ideas for how to use reward tickets for your kids:
Create a Reward Ticket Jar
One of the struggles with using a reward ticket system is figuring out where to store all of the tickets before they’re redeemed. Say you pass out tickets to your kids for 3 or 4 weeks before they turn them in for redemption… what happens to the tickets in the meantime?
That’s where a Ticket Jar comes in to play!
You can allow each of your kids to decorate their own mason jar or recycled pickle jar with paint, sequins, or other fun embellishments. Then they each have their own jar to store their tickets, and you have less of a chance of finding soggy carnival tickets in the washing machine or in the cracks of the couch.
You could also add wall-mounted mason jars to your family command center, alongside your kids’ chore charts and your family calendar.
Put a Reward Ticket in Your Kid’s Lunchbox
Sweet lunch box notes are nice, but what your kids really want to find in their lunchboxes is a reward ticket to get them one step closer to a prize!
If you see your child doing something nice or you want a fun way to say “good job” on your test, sneak a reward ticket in to their lunch box. You can even write a little note on the back of it to encourage your child during the school day.
Take Tickets Away for Poor Behavior
My husband is a HUGE believer in consequences. And we both believe that kids need to learn to be accountable for their own actions.
For instance, if our youngest daughter doesn’t take the time to study for her Spelling test (that she knows comes along every Friday), then it’s her own fault if she gets a poor grade. It’s not my job to remind her to study or to stand over her while she copies down her words… especially when she’s old enough to realize that she has a test coming up. Helicopter parent, I am not.
And a ticket reward system is a great way to teach personal responsibility and the consequences that go along with “dropping the ball”.
Just as you would give a reward ticket to reinforce positive behaviors, you can take away a ticket or two to discourage negative actions as well. For instance, if your child doesn’t complete his chores for the day or says something unkind to a sibling, you can take 2 tickets away as a consequence.
Give Tickets as Chore Incentives
If your kids have a chore chart like mine do, then tickets that can be used to redeem larger prizes are a great reward for completing their chore charts for the week.
However, if you decide to use tickets in this way, I would suggest a higher number of tickets as a prize at the end of the week. For instance, you can give 10 or 20 tickets for completing all chores, or just give 2 or 3 if only some of the chores were done.
Visit this post to check out my kids’ chore charts:
Keep Extra Tickets in Your Purse for Rewards on the Go
Dr. Katarzyna Bisaga, a child and adolescent psychiatrist, says that, for toddlers and preschoolers specifically, rewards should be given immediately after the positive behavior occurs to avoid confusion.
Stash a few reward tickets in your purse to give them out when you’re on the go, so your kids don’t forget what they did to earn them.
Give Reward Tickets Randomly
Instead of giving a ticket out every single time your child completes a specific task or does something good, mix it up. I have found that rewards work best when your child doesn’t start to expect them, but rather they’re a nice surprise used to reinforce positive behavior.
Set a Ticket Price for Different Rewards
You know when you take your kids to an arcade and they play a bunch of over-priced games to win tickets… And then they cash in their 500 tickets for a small toy that you could probably just go buy at Dollar Tree?
Well, you can do something similar with your at-home ticket reward system.
Create a “Ticket Menu” outlining the different rewards available and the ticket “price” of each one. Just be sure to make the prizes challenging, yet attainable, so that your kids don’t just give up because the ticket prices are too high. For instance, don’t set a ticket price of 100 tickets just for one measly Tootsie Roll.
This type of ticket redemption system also makes the reward more meaningful for your kids, because they get to pick what they want.
My printable reward tickets come with a few different Ticket Reward “Menus” to choose from, and you can even type directly into them!
And if you need ideas for what to offer as rewards, check out this post: 75 Rewards for Kids (and How to Make Rewards Work for You!)
One Ticket = One Specific Reward
Similar to using these Mom Bucks rewards, you could decide to pass out a ticket that is redeemable for a specific reward.
Instead of having your kids collect multiple tickets to turn in for a single prize, make each ticket good for a specific treat. You could even write on the back of the ticket what it’s good for, or look for printable reward tickets that come pre-filled with different small treats on them.
If you decide to go with this ticket system, however, I recommend that you don’t just pass out tickets willy-nilly, because that would be pretty expensive for you when your kids decide to redeem them.
Reward Tickets for Kids – 2 Different Options
Once you develop a system that works for your family, you’ve got to actually get the tickets. You have a few different options for this:
Carnival-Style Tickets on a Roll
You can buy large rolls of carnival tickets from Amazon to use for rewards. This is a great option if you don’t have a reliable printer at home or you don’t have access to a laminator, and you want a quick and easy ticket system set-up.
The limitations to the store-bought generic tickets is they all pretty much look the same, and they aren’t labeled for specific rewards. However, you can still tear off a ticket and write down the earned reward on the back side if you decide to have each ticket redeemable for a specific reward.
Printable Reward Tickets for Kids
Another option is to use my printable reward tickets for kids. These do require a little extra leg work on your part, because you will need to print, cut, and laminate the tickets yourself. But the benefit is that you can use them again and again!
*Check out my printable tickets and how to cut and laminate them at the end of this post!
Examples of When to Give Reward Tickets to Kids
Reward tickets are a great way to reinforce your child’s positive behaviors and to encourage future actions and efforts. But you may be wondering when to give out reward tickets.
Here are some examples that could warrant a reward:
- For potty training – Give kids a ticket every time they use the “big potty”.
- For good grades on school tests
- For keeping their room clean for the week
- For helping you with a special task, like decluttering and sorting through their clothes drawers
- For being kind to a sibling
- For offering to help with something that isn’t normally their job
- For completing their chore chart each day or each week – You could give one ticket for each day, or set a specific number of tickets to give at the end of the week if all of the chores were done.
How to Laminate the Printable Reward Tickets to Use Again and Again
First, download and print the reward tickets. I printed mine on a heavier weight printer paper, because I feel that the quality of colored printables is better on a 28 lb. or 32 lb. paper (regular printer paper is 20 lb.).
Next, use a paper trimmer to cut out the tickets. I used my handy Stampin’ Up! paper cutter. You can also just cut them out by hand, but a paper trimmer is much quicker and easier, and your cuts will be nice and straight.
Then, lay the tickets out in a laminating pouch with about 1/3″ of space in between each ticket on all sides so that your laminating machine can create a good seal. Here are my tickets in the laminating pouch before I put it through my laminator:
Also, I recommend a 5 mil laminating pouch, because the tickets will be nice and sturdy. These are the laminating pouches that I use and LOVE!
Once your tickets go through the laminator, allow the pouch to cool down completely and then cut each ticket out. I also recommend rounding the corners as you cut, because the corner points on the laminated tickets can be sharp!
Then you’re ready to use your tickets as incentives!
Check out my printable reward tickets and “ticket menus” that you can type in here!
And be sure to tell me in the comments about how you reward your kids for good behavior! Do you use a specific reward chart or an allowance system? I’d LOVE to know what works for you!
And don’t forget to PIN this post for later!
Leave A Reply!