This system has been working in our home for over a year.
One day, I got tired of yelling, nagging and repeating things. Does this sound familiar? I decided there had to be a better way of motivating my kids; what I was doing was so clearly not working. I began brainstorming, I wanted something that could be used for both reward and punishment, normal chores and "extra" household jobs. I also liked the idea of giving my kids an allowance, but with four of them, I feel like it could get quite pricey. I decided to adopt an incentive program that is similar to what many teachers use.
I pay my children with "kid dollars." I pay them a set amount for doing their chores, but if they don't do a chore and I end up doing it then they have to pay me for the job. I pay them when I catch them being good, doing something above and beyond, extra kind or extra helpful and I am especially generous when I can tell they are being extra good even though they aren't aware that anyone is watching. I bribe them with kid dollars during extra stressful, or not fun situations (like getting family pictures taken.) I also take money away from them. They can lose money for being rude, disobeying, or not washing their hands after using the bathroom. You can download your own Kid Dollars from the Free Stuff 4 Kids website. We printed a unique color for each child. They keep their money in recycled strawberry baskets in the kitchen.
Their money can be redeemed for merchandise at the "Kid Store." The store is open one night a week. They can choose to spend their money or save it. The store is filled with interesting items that my husband and I find at the dollar store, thrift shops and the dollar bins at Target. We also buy some bigger ticket items that motivate them to save. We try hard to make sure there are things in the store that are of interest to everyone. We don't price the items according to actual retail value, but instead they are priced according to what we perceive our children's interest and excitement level will be.We also include some coupons in the store that are for things like 45 minutes of computer time, a McDonald's ice cream cone or their choice of items at the dollar store.
One of my sons is a saver. He will save his money just in case we suddenly get something really good in the store, he wants to insure he has enough money available at all times. At one point he had saved well over $100, a large amount when you consider that I only pay $1 per day for chores. My husband and I decided that we needed to purchase a big ticket item that would be particularly enticing to him. We knew he had wanted a skateboard for a while so we purchased one at Walmart for about $8. Because this was a large item and something highly desirable we priced it at $95 in the store. My son was so excited that he had saved and he bought it immediately. To me, the $8 we spent was not a high priced reward for as long as he had saved and all of the chores and good behavior that had gone into earning his money.
This system has worked well in our home. It takes very little effort for me to manage and the kids love it. They look forward to shopping at the store and it motivates them.
Friday: Favorite Things Friday- Electric Fireplaces
