I thought I'd share my latest incarnation of the incentive program.
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| Punch card reward system |
I put together a punch card and had it printed at Vista Print. Cute, right?
The deal is that L can fill up the punch card by randomly being caught doing something good. Random is the key word. He's not getting a punch for every single thing he does, because that ends up sort of a counterproductive hassle.
When he fills a card up, he'll get to pick a reward from a list I've made up. This time around, I'm trying to stick mostly with fun experiences, instead of tangible things that require mommy to jump in the car, and go buy an expensive toy.
The choices will be for things like help mommy make a fun snack, stay up a little later and watch a movie, or choose any book for mommy to read. (Yes, that means even the Pokedex. Again.)
We're just getting started with this, so I can't vouch for it long term, but if you're looking for a new way to reward good behavior, it's worth a shot.
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It isn't as easy as saying this or that will work for that or this. Because every kid will act differently in every different situation. Therefore as a parent you also need to me a magical mindreader to know what will work with which kid in which situation because everyone is different. Some parents figure it out, others never do. It is all part of life, and you just have to also remember, being a kid is suppose to be fun, and it flies by very quickly. Good luck in your new adventure. I hope it works for you. I had 7 teenage girls living with me at once when I was a foster parent, I knew exactly what would work with which kid within a week of them being here. It was great. Miss all the kids being around here.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment. :)
ReplyDeleteMy kiddos are sweeties, truthfully. I'm just still trying to work out what exactly motivates them. L likes to earn rewards, but like everything else, he eventually gets bored with the routine.
He's a pretty visual person though, and he's enjoyed sticker charts and the like in the past.
In case anyone's wondering what sort of things I'm trying to encourage, our two biggest issues at this point are cleaning up toys without a battle, and going to bed without too many dramatics. :)