So if you're a parent like me, it’s highly likely that you have requested
something of your child and the task was either ignored or you were met with a
whining tantrum. Consequently you may have chosen to find items of interest and
use what is called bribery to get what you need out of them. I have tried a lot
of different angles with this system because whether or not its frowned upon by
professionals, I will do what it takes to keep what limited sanity I still have
and keep my kids happy at the same time. When Riley was younger it was a lot
easier to find things that would easily persuade her, usually candy was an easy
and cheap fix. Like in potty training, she could get 1 skittle for number one
and 3 skittles for number 2 :) Well right now she is 6 years old going on 19
and her little sister Sienna is not far behind. They are almost amused at the
suggestion of candy to clean their room and usually Riley has a smart mouth
reply like, "I can just ask Daddy for some, I don't have to clean anything
for it," and sadly I know she's probably right...damn that Tommy!
Anyhow, I just wanted to share what is probably not a new idea but is new to
us and it seems to be a real hit around the McMorgan household. It's called
McDowell Money and it starts with getting a craft project out of it by having
the girls pick four colors (2 each) of colored paper and cutting them into however
many pieces you can get in a rectangular, money shape. Chose the denomination
and color code it however you choose. Ours is green for $0.50, blue for $1.00,
orange for $5.00 and pink for $10.00. They colored each piece of money on one
side and then I wrote and initialed the other (initialing prevents counterfeit
<3 I love my girls but they are half Tommy aka sneaky).
We then sat down as a familia and discussed a couple different lists. One of
all the special trips that they could save up for like St. Augustine fort,
movies, putt-putt, picnic, camping, etc. The other list was of things they could
convert their McDowell money into real money and buy like dress-up clothes,
lego’s, make-up, Dragon Ball Z dvds, and even simple items like soda which is
prohibited in our house as far as the kids go. Including them helped them
visualize the things they would work/save for and helped build excitement. The
most important list was the one we put together of all the tasks, attitude (or
lack of) and example behaviors to demonstrate which were all ways for making McDowell
Money.
We put the list up where they can easily review anytime then emptied two Crystal
Light containers for banks (squeeze another project out of decorating the
banks) and voila. The best part is that just like a bank, they can deposit
money and if they make mistakes the Bank of Parents DEDUCTS money! If Sienna
remembers to put her shoes by the door and takes the extra step of getting everyone’s
shoes to the shoe rack she can make $1. However, if she then proceeds to run
over to her sisters and take away their toys or refuse to share she will then
have a Bad Choice Fee applied and lose money based on severity.
I’ve done the point system, the chart of chores, and general bribing with
whatever exciting thing is coming up (ex.: “If you don’t go to bed Santa is
NEVER coming to the house!!!” and then after Christmas it’s, “If you don’t put
those toys where they belong Santa is coming back to take them to good kids who’ll
appreciate them!!!!”) Right now, in this money driven generation, my girls are
fully aware of cash and that it can buy them what they want but could use to
learn how hard it is to acquire and how important saving it can be.
It’s a lot of extra steps in place of just giving them real money but if you’re
household budget is like ours it’s hard to keep extra cash on hand so it works
out to convert at your convenience (it also works to keep Tommy out of their
banks).
Some of the things they can buy are obviously things we would do
regardless of their fake money bankroll but it never hurts to get a little
lesson on doing something for a reward instead of spoiling them. Next time we
go to Target and they point at 30billion things they want me to buy with that
magic plastic debit card I can remind them they should be doing more to help
out around the house or whine less so they can make more McDowell Money!!! :D
