Working on Behavior

One of my favorite tv shows is NBC's Parenthood.  There are so many times when I burst out laughing because I can totally relate to something said or done on the show.  I had one of those moments while watching the episode "Trouble in Candyland" during which one mom asks another about how she gets her son to behave and cooperate.  "Bribery," she replies.  "We call it an incentive program, but it's really just bribery."  While there is some debate about the technical differences between bribery and incentives, I found myself nodding in agreement, and laughing out loud.

The final piece of the school at home puzzle is behavior management.  You can't be an effective instructor, and your child can't be a receptive student if you both are constantly battling behavior issues.  We have created a new incentive program at my house, and so far...it's working.  I'm calling it Working on Behavior.  My daughter is 9, but very much wants to get a job so she can earn some money.  We don't offer allowances at our house, but I won't go into the details of that decision right now .  We do, however want to fulfill her need to get some satisfaction for her hard work, so she and I had a talk about the fact that her school work and household chores are her job for now.

After some thinking and discussing we agreed on this...

She can earn up to $10 per day based on her behavior during school and completion of her chores after school.  At the end of each week, she will receive her paycheck, which she will need to deposit into her account.  She can then use her checkbook to buy rewards from us.  Rewards can be things like extra dessert, staying up late on weekends, or extra tv or video game time.  We also agreed that other rewards can be added to the list as we go.  This allows her to feel more grown up, and gives her more of the things she really wants while teaching her that successes in the working world are linked to performance and effort.  (It doesn't hurt that she is learning to manage money and a bank account at the same time.)

I sat down and made a chart to display how much she is earning each day, an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of her weekly pay, and then linked it with Word documents I created for printing her paycheck, blank checks, deposit slips, and check register.  I formatted all of these documents so that you can download them and quickly fill in your own information.  I set up the spreadsheet to accommodate up to 35 students, and set up the Word documents as mail merge templates so that you can easily print paychecks, blank checks, and deposit slips for multiple children.  Download my Working on Behavior Starter Pack for free.

Last, but not least, please congratulate Melanie S. on winning the Ready-to-read Bundle!  Thank you for the entries I received.

Karissa