Children and Rewards
The Article “How Food as a Reward is Detrimental to Children’s Health, Learning and Behavior” written by Alicia Fedewa discussed the effects of using food as a reward on children. The study did not have any experimental tests, but concluded from numerous studies. The article focused on three things: the connection between obesity and negative consequences for students mental and physical health, poor relationships with food, and alternatives to using food as reward in school.
The impact of food on physical health is the increased risk of obesity. There are negative consequences of obesity on educational achievement. Overweight children scored lower scores in math and reading and have lower grades than children of average weight (Fedewa, 2015). There are also consequences of being overweight on children’s behaviors. Children with BMIs over the 85th percentile are …show more content…
A token economy is one example that has been shown to improve student’s behaviors. The reinforcer must be non-food related like game time or sitting by friends for elementary age students, no homework pass or time to talk with friends for middle schoolers, and brainteasers and having lunch outside for high school students (Fedewa, 2015). Physical activity breaks are also an option. Having physical activity breaks incorporated into academic studies improve attention and time on task. It can also decrease the use of medications for students with attention deficit disorders or asthma (Fedewa, 2015). Antecedent interventions are also another technique. This method addresses the behavior before it occurs. It is particularly useful for students with disruptive behaviors. The teacher signals by saying the individual 's name or giving a look to communicate the expected behavior and increase on task behavior (Fedewa, 2015). Antecedent interventions, token economies and physical activity breaks are alternatives to a food
The Article “How Food as a Reward is Detrimental to Children’s Health, Learning and Behavior” written by Alicia Fedewa discussed the effects of using food as a reward on children. The study did not have any experimental tests, but concluded from numerous studies. The article focused on three things: the connection between obesity and negative consequences for students mental and physical health, poor relationships with food, and alternatives to using food as reward in school.
The impact of food on physical health is the increased risk of obesity. There are negative consequences of obesity on educational achievement. Overweight children scored lower scores in math and reading and have lower grades than children of average weight (Fedewa, 2015). There are also consequences of being overweight on children’s behaviors. Children with BMIs over the 85th percentile are …show more content…
A token economy is one example that has been shown to improve student’s behaviors. The reinforcer must be non-food related like game time or sitting by friends for elementary age students, no homework pass or time to talk with friends for middle schoolers, and brainteasers and having lunch outside for high school students (Fedewa, 2015). Physical activity breaks are also an option. Having physical activity breaks incorporated into academic studies improve attention and time on task. It can also decrease the use of medications for students with attention deficit disorders or asthma (Fedewa, 2015). Antecedent interventions are also another technique. This method addresses the behavior before it occurs. It is particularly useful for students with disruptive behaviors. The teacher signals by saying the individual 's name or giving a look to communicate the expected behavior and increase on task behavior (Fedewa, 2015). Antecedent interventions, token economies and physical activity breaks are alternatives to a food