DAY 2: motivate the toddler
If your household is anything like mine then you are going to love this next pin.
There’s an unruly three-year-old stampeding through our castle demanding everything under the sun except the sun itself, although I am expecting that any day now.
After some thought about how to tackle the madness I came up with a reward system. It’s simply titled, “I did it for a ticket.” She understands that usually upon giving or receiving of a ticket there is a prize or gift. Think Chuck E. Cheese or a train ride at the mall. Both involve tickets and awesome kid rewards.
I made this not-so-pretty display during a quick crafting session to see if potty training and other daily activities would happen a little easier if my daughter would “win” something at the end. I should have busted out the Cricut but I didn’t have time.
For those that know us, you know Amelia wears glasses and wears an eye patch for 1 hour a day. I suggest putting tasks on the board that you know your child needs encouragement to do, especially ones that might not be particularly fun.
So far it’s been about a 50/50 reaction to the ticket-reward concept. She hasn’t redeemed the first week’s collection of tickets yet. So, I think once she sees what she can get for all of her hard work next week will be a much better reaction.
I was inspired by the “Behavior Bucks” I found on this blog.
If the ticket system fails I might resort to money. But for now I’m hoping Amelia will be satisfied with her tickets.
It’s been a few days since the implementation and she is starting to get excited about putting the tickets in the slots. This is also teaching her how to read and recognize words associated with pictures. It’s a mom win-win.
I’m praying this day 2 pin works. If it proves successful I can foresee it growing with us for years to come.
How it works: For every deed completed Amelia earns one ticket. I’ve decided to make each ticket worth $0.05 (5 cents). She will then have the chance to buy prizes or save the tickets for a bigger prize. I’m guessing she will spend them rather than save them. But that’s OK. This momma doesn’t care what she does with her tickets as long as the daily routine goes a little bit smoother.
I thought of taking away tickets for all of the "No's" I'm still getting, however, I decided not to use negative conditioning. Instead I remind Amelia she will not earn a ticket for something she doesn't do.
Also, I suggest using envelopes or something loose. I already discovered the tickets are hard to get out of the the little pockets I made because the paper rips when I stick my fingers in there. The board might need an update later down the road.
Now let’s tackle today’s Bible study lesson. The word of the day is “encouragement.” This a big word both phonetically and rhetorically. Romans 15:4 reminds us “through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” With God’s help my husband I will continue to encourage Amelia to learn how to live right and just while achieving daily goals such as potty training and wearing her eyeglasses.
We all have our own personal struggles to conquer. I pray you find ways to overcome yours as we are slowly doing, too, by the will of God and the faith we have in His ability to make us better people by seeking Jesus everyday.
Until next time,
Melissa Merkler
