Motivation Comes My Way

I have cause for celebration at my house.... my child is actually volunteering to get some chores done without being pushed to do it! Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!! (as Gomer Pyle would say).

He was always reluctant to do any type of "work". Well naturally, it interfered with his playing time. I racked my brain to come up with a (virtually) pain free method that would teach him the "work ethic". Many attempts fell by the wayside... I would restrict his playing with favorite toys ("well, I didn't want to play with it, anyway")... he could earn extra playtime with a favorite toy (that worked for a short time)... and on it went.

Our most recent ploy seems to be working. Hopefully, it will last. I made this offer to him... for every day he gets in an hour's worth of work in the morning and an hour's worth of work in the evening, he gets a dollar in his credit savings account. In other words, I write in a composition book the date, the amount, and the actual way the money was earned. For instance, he may do yard work. Or, he may clean his room (you get the idea). One dollar for two hours work doesn't sound like much, but I told him he had the opportunity to make thirty to thirty one dollars a month. It does add up!

On some occasions, he is given cash by me or someone else. He is allowed to give me his cash (if he wants to) for deposit into his account. The entry in his account always lists how he got the money (earned, cash deposit, etc). We keep a running tally of how much he has in his account.

On the negative side, there are also ways he can lose money from his account....

First, when he spends money, we of course deduct that amount from his account... but there are behaviors that can warrant a loss. If he behaves inapropriately at home or elsewhere (and it is something he has been cautioned about previously), I fine him one dollar for that particular incident.

Also, if he neglects to finish his homework (written work for the day) before a reasonable time, he will lose one dollar.

When I look at the system (thus far), I know we probably need to tweak it a little. But, there are many things he is learning... he is learning the value of work... he is beginning to learn the concept of debits and credits (or, how to keep a checkbook)... he is learning to avoid undesirable behaviors (to a certain extent), so there will be no negative consequences.

To be honest, I am learning a couple of things as well. I am learning to let him do his own shopping (within certain guidelines). He is focused on things I would never have been interested in. I think he is actually wasting his money!

But as HE is the one who is working and saving his money, he should have some leeway as to how it is spent.

A surprising bonus has occurred that I NEVER thought would happen... when he found the prized Pokemon cards he wanted (I know, I don't like them either!), there just so happened to be some written in Spanish. Guess who is now saying he HAS to learn Spanish (this is coming from a child who, heretofore, has despised his Spanish lessons!). I was so shocked, I was completely speechless. My first thought was, "I have Pokemon to thank for this?" I am STILL a little bewildered by the thought...