We'd love to see our kids help out with household chores naturally and without a fuss, but reality is often quite different! While the youngest are often happy to help us vacuum or empty the dishwasher, older kids tend to lose motivation once the chore is no longer a real challenge for them. Because intrinsic motivation isn't always enough to convince kids to pitch in actively and positively with everyday chores, a motivation system like the General Store is often a powerful ally! Here are a few tips to make sure it's effective and that you're using it to its full potential:
Offer appealing rewards
Make sure your General Store includes rewards and privileges your kids will truly love, ones that match their needs and interests. Don't hesitate to ask them what they'd like to find there; that way, you'll know they'll be eager to get them with the tokens they've saved up! Short on ideas? You'll find our list of suggestions here.
Set realistic expectations
For the motivation system to work, it's important that your child is able to experience success. So be sure to set realistic expectations based on your child's developmental level and actual abilities. To help you figure out which chores you can give kids at each age, feel free to use our Magnétos chore magnets, designed for exactly that.
Work on one challenge at a time
To keep your kids from getting discouraged by the size of the task, be sure to give them just one new challenge at a time. Once a challenge has been met and your child has fully worked the new chore into their routine, or has stopped the inappropriate behaviour, set a new goal. For more tips on learning a new chore step by step, check out our blog post on the topic.
For more tips on using a motivation system like the General Store at home, and to understand its positive impact on family life, take a moment to explore our articles on the topic:
- How to teach the value of effort with the General Store
- Learning about real life with the General Store
- Learning to save with the General Store
- Practical tips for knowing how long to reinforce good behaviour
- The General Store: should you take tokens away?
- 40 privilege ideas for the General Store
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