Using the General Store to positively reinforce children's good behavior and chores does not mean giving children five tokens every time they clean their room, and this throughout their childhood! Rather, the goal is to get children to complete tasks or take on challenges first through extrinsic motivation ( I clean my room because I will then be entitled to five tokens ) and then because of a lasting habit that they will have acquired through intrinsic motivation ( I clean my room because I understand that it is pleasant to live in a clean and orderly environment ).
So, it is best to target only a few tasks or challenges at a time and break them down into a few steps so that the child has time to develop a solid habit that he will end up repeating without even thinking about it and, above all, without feeling the need to receive a reward for his work. Here is a concrete example of the rhythm that you could adopt if you want your child to be able to make his own lunch every morning:
Step 1:
The child must put all the items of his lunch (that you will have prepared beforehand) in his lunch box. If he does so, he receives three tokens (or any other amount that you have determined) that he can use in the General Store.
Step 2 (when the child completes 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 completes the second step independently or without reminder):
The child prepares his entire lunch (our lunch box label and our little trick will certainly give him a helping hand!) and receives three tokens that he can use in the General Store.
Step 4 (when the child completes 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 doing so and is therefore ready to take on new challenges!
Step 5
Now is the time to assign new tasks to the child or identify 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 it takes to complete them . Also, make sure to take the time needed for each step , to ensure you create a habit that will last over time!
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