Reward System

At the beginning of summer I attempted to teach the boys household AND financial responsibility by doling out daily chores with an allowance.  As is typical with my children, after the first two-three weeks, the chores did not get done without hounding them and therefore allowances were withheld for incomplete charts.

While scanning through apps on my iphone I came across a great reward system but instead of purchasing the app to keep track of rewards I bought glass jars.

I created a list for each of the boys based on their age and abilities.  There are basic items such as brushing their teeth and doing homework along with actual household chores that would help Mommy out immensely like unloading the dishwasher and putting away their own laundry.  Each task has a # of stars associated with it. The more difficult or excessive the task the more # of stars they will receive.  There is a minimum of 6 stars per day with a maximum of 16 stars.

Each boy has a jar with his name on it where he will put the stars he is awarded each day.  These stars can be redeemed upon their discretion for various rewards.  The reward list is written out and displayed by the jars and charts as motivation.  They range from a redbox movie rental for 30 stars to a bookstore purchase for 100 stars to a trip to Marbles Museum for 250 stars.

 

I believe this system will work because the boys are more in control.  If they chose not to do the tasks then it only hurts themselves.  And they control the reward as well so depending on what they really want will teach them the reality of saving or spending.  Plus this is all plastered directly outside their door so hopefully that's a reminder in itself to take care of their responsibilities!