Maintaining motivation during the summer - Motivation system

Overcoming preconceived notions about motivational systems

Are you worried that a positive reinforcement system will make your child dependent on rewards, or that implementing it will require too much effort or investment in terms of money and time? Do you doubt the long-term effectiveness of this form of education or worry about harming your child's intrinsic motivation development? It's time to overcome your prejudices and instead observe the positive effects such a system can have when used correctly, and realize the enormous impact it can have on the development of parenting strategies. 

The hidden benefits for parenting strategies

Clarifying expectations

Using a motivational system like the General Store allows parents to be more consistent and coherent in their interventions; indeed, to earn a token, instructions and expectations must be clear for both parent and child, and there should be no ambiguity about the criteria for earning the much-desired token. No more last chances or the temptation to grant a privilege to the child despite not-quite-optimal behavior and a half-completed task: the token is earned only if and when the clearly stated expectations are met!

From the cycle of threats to observing good actions

If you tend to constantly notice bad behaviors and use threats to enforce rules, using a motivational system will encourage 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 often hear it: for a child to avoid repeating undesirable behaviors, they must experience the logical consequences of their choices. If you often struggle to find the perfect consequence for an action, the General Store will take that burden off your mind: a bad choice and/or an uncompleted task = no token collected! The system thus provides a constructive and educational alternative to often ineffective punishments, while also allowing the child to naturally learn about cause and effect. 

Concretely understanding the family equation

The quintessential family equation? The child must understand what their parents do to make their life enjoyable, as well as what they need to do on their end to do the same.  Therefore, it's important not to put any extras in the General Store, so that the child understands that every family member must do their part for daily life to run smoothly and harmoniously for everyone. So, deposit rewards in the Store that you would naturally give your children: modeling clay, craft supplies, or beach toys, for example. 

Limiting requests and developing consistency

Since it's obviously impossible to give a child tokens for every good deed or task completed, using a motivational system allows you to target a few points at a time and thus work together as parents to achieve set goals. This approach also promotes consultation and consistency between parents, as there are fewer challenges to address, and they are determined as a parental team.

Building connection through play

Children learn naturally and more effectively through play, and learning good behavior and autonomy is no exception! The General Store will thus allow you to add a touch of fun to daily discipline and spend positive moments with your children, thanks to the playful aspect of the system and the child's natural desire to cooperate. 

Tips for success

Building buy-in through initial generosity

To ensure the child's buy-in to the system from the outset, it's important to be generous from the start and offer a sufficient number of tokens for each good deed and/or task completed. Also, make sure to set realistic goals to allow the child to experience successes quickly, thus avoiding demotivation and rejection of the established system. 

Fairness between children

Obviously, expectations are not the same for a three-year-old as for an 11-year-old teenager. Therefore, ensure that everyone has equal opportunities to accumulate tokens, according to objectives specific to each person's abilities and development. Thus, the toddler can earn tokens for each step of their routine completed autonomously, while older children will have to complete their entire routine to earn tokens, in addition to having to do a few household chores each week.

Individual rewards and family challenges

To guarantee the success of the system, it's important that each child has the opportunity to earn tokens individually and thus have the chance to get a reward just for them. But, to strengthen family spirit and collaboration within the family unit, make sure to set up family challenges: if each member of the clan gets the set number of tokens, we have a movie night or order pizza for dinner this weekend! 

Simplified management to avoid overload

Because it's obviously out of the question to increase your already significant mental load by implementing such a system, avoid giving a token after each task completed; instead, conduct a daily review at the end of the day or a weekly one each weekend, and take the time to designate a chief manager of the General Store and token distribution each week. 

So, ready to take action? Get our turnkey motivational system now, and browse our blog articles to discover more tips and tricks to ensure its success, as well as ideas for rewards to offer children of all ages!