My daughter (5) has received multiple 'writer of the week' or 'star of the day' at school over the last year, as well as a worker of the week certificate (i think most children have received at some point in the year and most recently an ambassador award from headteacher (not as frequent and there is only her and another who have received), and gone up a levek at swimming etc.
Me and Dad have always said well done, we are proud, are you proud etc so she doesn't rely on others for praise and can be happy for her own achievements... but I have heard from multiple parents recently who have bought new toys etc for these types of rewards and now I feel really guilty , is this normal, where do we draw the line, is there a rule to gift vs achievement? I am an overthinker!
To be honest we have a really good range of toys in the house that get played with and don't usually buy small tat type toys and I have even struggled on things to buy for most recent birthday and instead did a day out etc.
I also then feel guilty for younger sibling if i buy one as they aren't in school or swimming so cannot get these achievements.
What do others do? What is reasonable? Am I a monster parent 😅