11 Signs You Resort to Bribery with Your Kids Too Often

Parenting is tough and in our goal oriented society, it only seems natural to bribe our kids for good behavior. According to the T. Rowe Price 2014 Parents, Kids & Money Survey, 48% of parents admit to bribing their kids. So, almost half of us admit to bribing children, and those who say they never do…well. Honestly, who never offers a special treat or new toy at the store in exchange for good behavior? That’s what we thought…

As CEO of Money Savvy Generation, Susan Beacham, says, “A lot of parents use a bribe not because we’re confident it’s the best parenting tool, but because we’re tired,” and we are! So tired!The important thing to note is that not all bribery is bad, but too much of it can definitely backfire. Here are 11 signs you might be bribing children a little too often.

1. They’re a little too eager to lend a hand

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Okay, so your kids offering to help is fantastic but when they start offering to do useless tasks and asking what they’ll get in return, things have gone too far.

2. They hold out their hand after finishing dessert

It’s one thing when they expect a reward for eating their veggies or cleaning their room, but when they start expecting a prize for finishing dessert or going to an amusement park, you’re probably bribing them too much.

3. They’re loaded

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When your kids have more possessions than you do, take a step back and reflect on your copious rewards for kids.

4. An empty treat drawer gives you an anxiety attack

Do you panic when you realize you’ve run out of ‘special’ treats? If so, it’s time to come up with a back-up plan for good behavior.

5. Your kids have hired a manager to negotiate terms

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Business savvy is great, but if your seven-year-old could get a better deal on a used car than you, the practice of bribing children has gone too far.

6. They never misbehave. Ever

Because you’re paying them to be good.

7. You’ve graduated from bribing children to bribing adults

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If you try to get out of a traffic ticket by offering the police officer a cookie if he’ll let this one slide, it’s time to rein it in.

8. Bribes don’t work anymore

Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no!

9. The phrase “Because I said so” is totally foreign

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If your children are mystified when their friend’s mother expects them to do something just because she said so. You may want to start using the phrase more often yourself.

10. Your child holds the mortgage to your house

Please don’t tell us you’ve let it go this far!

11. They’ve started to up the ante

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You offer your child a mint from your purse so that you can just get through the grocery check out in peace, and he or she stops mid-tantrum to say, “I think we both know you can do better than that.” So. Not. Okay.