Using the General Store to positively reinforce the good behavior of the child and the tasks carried out obviously does not mean allocating five tokens to the child each time he completes the cleaning of his room, and this throughout his childhood! Rather, the goal is to get the child to accomplish tasks or meet challenges first through extrinsic motivation ( I tidy my room because I will then be entitled to five tokens ) and then because of a lasting habit that he will have acquired thanks to an intrinsic motivation ( I tidy my room because I understand that it is pleasant to live in a clean and orderly environment ).
Thus, it is preferable to target only a few tasks or challenges at a time and to break them up into a few steps so that the child has time to develop a solidly acquired habit that he will end up repeating without even trying. think and, above all, without feeling the need to receive a reward for his work. Here is a concrete example of the rhythm you could adopt if you want your child to be able to make his own lunch every morning:
Step 1:
The child must himself put all the elements of his lunch (which you will have previously prepared) in his lunch box. If he does, he receives three tokens (or any other amount you determine) which he can use in the General Store.
Step 2 (when the child performs the first step independently or without reminder):
The child prepares only part of his lunch (the raw vegetables that go with his sandwich, the fruit for his dessert, etc.) and receives three tokens that he can use in the General Store.
Step 3 (when the child performs the second step independently or without recall):
The child prepares his entire lunch (our lunch box label and our little trick can certainly give him a boost!) and receives three tokens that he can use in the General Store.
Step 4 (when the child performs the fourth step independently or without reminder):
The child prepares his entire lunch and no longer gets tokens for doing so, as he has now become accustomed to and is therefore ready to take on new challenges!
Step 5
Now is the time to assign new tasks to the child or determine new challenges to overcome, of course starting the process again from step one!
Feel free to change the number of tokens awarded based on the child's level of motivation for a task or challenge, or the difficulty and time involved in completing it . In addition, be sure to take the time necessary for each of the steps , to ensure that you create a habit that will last over time!