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Well Done Gifts for Kids: 10 Rewards That Aren't Sweets
Well done gifts for kids aged 3 to 8 that aren't sweets: ten rewards from free to £34.99, matched to the moment, plus what the NHS says about food.
The best well done gifts for kids aren't sweets. The NHS advises against using food as a reward and suggests a trip to the park or a game together instead. So match the reward to the moment: time with you for everyday bravery, something small for a badge or a good report, and something bigger for the end of a school year.
A well done gift is a small present that marks something your child worked for, like a swimming badge or a good school report, rather than a birthday or Christmas. Below are ten for ages 3 to 8, from free to £34.99, each paired with the moment it suits. For bigger occasions, our guide to presents that keep them moving picks up where this one stops.
How big should a well done gift be?
A well done gift for a child works best when it's the right size for the effort: a game with you after a brave visit to the dentist, a bigger present when a whole school year is done. Each idea below names the moment, the ages it suits and a rough price. Prices are guides for the kind of thing, not quotes.
Grandparents can give any of them, and often do. If that's you, our guide to gifts for grandchildren that last past January has more ideas for the rest of the year.
What are good well done gifts for kids?
Good well done gifts for kids mark the moment without turning it into a points chart. Here are ten, in roughly the order a child meets the moments.
1. Brave at the dentist, the doctor's or a jab: a game of their choice
For: a child who got through something they'd been dreading. Ages: 3 to 8. Price: free.
Twenty minutes, their game, your full attention. The NHS suggests promising to play a game as a reward in place of food. It costs nothing and it's ready the moment you get home.
2. A good school report or parents' evening: they plan Saturday morning
For: a child whose teacher had good things to say. Ages: 4 to 8. Price: free.
The park, the library, a bike ride: they choose, you go along. In England, the school must write a report on your child's progress by the end of each summer term, so the end of the year comes with a natural moment.
3. Reading a first book on their own: a bookshop trip
For: a new reader who's just finished a whole book alone. Ages: 5 to 7. Price: under £10.
Take them to a bookshop or library sale and let them choose the next one entirely by themselves. The reward is also the next thing to read. Write the date inside the cover, so they know which book came first.
4. A swimming badge: kit for the next stage
For: a child who's just passed a swimming stage. Ages: 4 to 8. Price: £10 to £20.
Swim England's Learn to Swim Programme runs stage awards from Stage 1 to Stage 7, so the award itself marks the moment. The present can be kit for what comes next: new goggles, or a hooded towel for the walk back to the car.
5. The end of reception, or a whole term of trying: a mat with numbered poses
For: a child who's finished something big and likes a new challenge. Ages: 3 to 8. Price: £34.99, and this one is ours.
Sun Salutation has 15 numbered poses engraved into the mat, from mouse at 1 to dancer at 15. A sweet is gone by teatime. This well done sets the next challenge: start at pose 1 and work along, with no screen and nothing to set up.
6. Riding without stabilisers: something new for the bike
For: a child who's just wobbled off on two wheels. Ages: 4 to 7. Price: under £10.
A bell, a basket or handlebar streamers. It's a reward they'll see every time they ride, and it says you noticed the exact thing they learned. Wrap it and hang it on the handlebars before they come downstairs.
7. The first nativity or school show: a card and a photo
For: a child who stood on a stage for the first time. Ages: 3 to 7. Price: under £10.
Write a card about one thing you loved, and if you were able to take a photo, print it and put it in a frame for their room. The words are the present. The frame is the part that keeps it out of the recycling.
8. Using the toilet before bed: a sticker each time
For: a child working towards dry nights. Ages: 3 to 7. Price: under £5.
This is the NHS's own example: a sticker for every time they use the toilet before bed. The reward is for the action, never for a dry night: NICE guidance says rewards should be for agreed behaviour rather than dry nights. The NHS also says not to punish bedwetting, because it isn't the child's fault.
9. Learning to tie laces: bright new laces
For: a child who's finally cracked the bunny ears. Ages: 5 to 8. Price: under £5.
A pair of bright or patterned laces for their school shoes or trainers. They get to show off the new skill every morning, and every time they tie them they're practising it again. It's the cheapest item here and one of the most used.
10. The end of the school year: a memory box
For: a child finishing reception, Year 1 or Year 2. Ages: 4 to 8. Price: £10 to £20.
A sturdy box for the year's certificates, badges, the school report and a favourite painting. Write the year and their class on the lid together. It's one of the best end of year gifts for kids from parents, because it's about them, not about a new thing.
Should you reward kids with sweets?
The NHS says plainly: "Do not use food as a reward." Its reason is that your child may start to think of sweets as nice and vegetables as nasty, and it suggests a trip to the park or a game with you instead. On tantrums, it adds that it does not help to bribe children with sweets or treats.
That doesn't make a lolly at a party a problem. The point is not to make food the prize for effort.
What are good reward ideas for kids at home?
The best reward ideas for kids at home cost little or nothing: time with you, a choice that's usually yours, or a small thing that marks the moment. The NHS suggests praising good behaviour and giving plenty of cuddles. By budget, from the list above:
- Free: a game of their choice (1), they plan Saturday (2)
- Under £10: a bookshop trip (3), something for the bike (6), a card and photo (7), stickers (8), new laces (9)
- £10 to £20: swimming kit (4), a memory box (10)
- £20 to £40: a mat with numbered poses (5)
What are good end of term gifts for kids?
Good end of term gifts for kids mark the work of the whole term, not one day. The memory box, the Saturday plan and the mat all fit, because they're about what comes next. The autumn term ends in December, so an end of term well done can double as a Christmas present. The summer term brings the report and the move up a year.
Pairing a reward with the moment
- For an end of year report: the Saturday plan, then the memory box to keep the report in.
- For the end of a term: the mat, then pose 1 together that evening. Our guide to a sun salutation you can learn together has the steps.
A grandparent marking a good report can join in too: the mat is full length, 183 x 61 cm. For a big well done, pick a colour from our kids' yoga mats: £34.99 with free UK delivery, and 10 per cent off two or more if their brother or sister earned one too.
What if your child would rather have sweets?
Some children would rather have the sweets, and that's fine to hear. Keep the rewards small, keep praise and time as the everyday ones, and don't turn it into a points chart. If you do use a reward system, NICE's guidance on bedwetting advises against systems that take back rewards already earned, and the same thinking travels well.
Frequently asked questions
Should you reward a child for a dry night?
No, reward what they can do. The NHS suggests agreeing rewards for positive actions, such as a sticker every time they use the toilet before bed, and NICE says rewards should be for agreed behaviour rather than dry nights. Don't punish wet nights. If bedwetting is worrying you or your child, see a GP or school nurse.
Should you reward kids for good behaviour?
Praise and attention are the everyday reward. The NHS suggests praising good behaviour and giving plenty of cuddles when children aren't behaving badly, and says bribing with sweets or treats doesn't help with tantrums. Save presents for things your child worked at over time, like a swimming stage or a whole school year.
Is it good to reward children too often?
No authority puts a number on it, so this is our view. Keep gifts for milestones a child worked towards, and use praise, time and a game with you for the everyday. If every small thing earns a present, the presents stop meaning much, and the big moments become harder to mark.
What's a good well done gift for a 5 year old?
Something they can see or use: new laces once they can tie them, something for the bike when the stabilisers come off, or a bookshop trip for a first book read alone. A mat with numbered poses suits a bigger moment, like the end of reception. Here are more present ideas for a five-year-old.
