Maintaining motivation during the summer – Motivation system

Moving past your preconceptions about motivation systems

Are you worried that a positive reinforcement system will make your child dependent on rewards, or that setting it up will take too much effort or too much of an investment in money and time? Do you doubt the long-term effectiveness of this style of parenting, or fear it could get in the way of your child's intrinsic motivation? It's time to move past your preconceptions and see instead the positive effects this kind of system can have when it's used well, and to realize the huge impact it can have on developing your parenting strategies. 

The little-known benefits for your parenting strategies

Stating your expectations more clearly

Using a motivation system such as the General Store lets parents be more consistent and coherent in how they intervene; to earn a token, the instructions and expectations have to be clear to both the parent and the child, and there must be no fuzziness about the criteria that will earn them the long-awaited token. No more last chances, and no more temptation to grant a privilege despite less-than-ideal behaviour and a half-finished chore: the token is earned if and only if the expectations clearly set out beforehand are met!

From the cycle of threats to noticing good behaviour

If you tend to constantly notice bad behaviour and use threats to enforce the rules you've set, using a motivation system will push you to add more positivity to your family's daily life, inviting you to focus on what your child does well and accomplishes rather than on the bad choices they might sometimes be tempted to make. 

From punishments to logical consequences

You hear it often: for a child to avoid repeating unacceptable behaviour, they must face the logical consequences of their choices. If you often struggle to find the consequence that follows perfectly from the action taken, the General Store lets you stop worrying about it: a bad choice and/or an unfinished chore = no token collected! The system gives you a constructive, educational alternative to punishments that are often ineffective, and lets your child naturally learn about cause and effect. 

Understanding the family equation in concrete terms

The ultimate family equation? Your child needs to understand what their parents do to make their life pleasant, as well as what they need to do on their end to do the same.  So it's important not to put any extras in the Store, so that your child understands that every family member has to do their share for daily life to run smoothly and harmoniously for everyone. Put in the Store, as rewards, the things you would naturally give your kids anyway: modelling clay, craft supplies or beach toys, for example. 

Limiting your demands and building consistency

Since it's obviously impossible to give a child tokens for every good deed or chore completed, using a motivation system lets you target a few points at a time and work together as parents to reach the goals you've set. This approach also encourages teamwork and consistency between parents, since the challenges to tackle are fewer and decided on as a parenting team.

Building connection through play

Children learn naturally, and more effectively, through play, and learning good behaviour and independence is no exception! The General Store lets you add a touch of fun to everyday discipline and spend positive moments with your kids, thanks to the playful side of the system and your child's natural desire to cooperate. 

Tips for success

Getting buy-in through initial generosity

To get your child on board with the system from the moment it's set up, it's important to be generous from the start and offer enough tokens for each good deed and/or chore completed. Also make sure to set realistic goals so your child can quickly experience success, which helps avoid demotivation and rejection of the system you've established. 

Fairness between children

Of course, expectations aren't the same for a three-year-old as for an 11-year-old preteen. So make sure each child has equal opportunities to collect tokens, with goals suited to each one's abilities and development. For example, the toddler can earn tokens for each step of their routine that they complete on their own, while the older kids have to complete their entire routine to earn tokens, on top of doing a few household chores each week.

Individual rewards and family challenges

To make sure the system succeeds, it's important for each child to have the chance to earn tokens individually, and so have the possibility of getting a reward just for themselves. But to strengthen family spirit and cooperation within the family cocoon, be sure to set up family challenges: if every member of the clan earns the set number of tokens, we have a movie night or order pizza for dinner this weekend! 

Simplified management to avoid overload

Since the last thing you want is to add to your already hefty mental load by setting up a system like this, avoid handing out a token after every completed chore; instead, do a daily review at the end of the day or a weekly one each weekend, and take the time each week to name someone in charge of the General Store and of awarding the tokens. 

So, ready to take action? Get our turnkey motivation system now, and browse our blog articles to discover more tips and tricks for making it a success, plus reward ideas for kids of all ages!