Ali earns an Allowance

Alexiss is growing into her own person more and more every day, with that comes thumbs-up moments and thumbs-down moments. Many moms utilize sticker charts or numbering charts to reward and discipline, but to Alexiss..a sticker is a sticker and a number is a number. She's already grasped that money buys things though, so I thought I'd use a chore type chart to let her earn and spend money! I'm also trying to teach her that money isn't just an endless resource and that Daddy works hard to put a room over our heads, food on our table and then some.

I struggled with the layout, or possibly wasn't fueled enough to put my mind to actually making it happen. I had the play money and supplies months ago but there's a few recent drivers pushing me on; one is her love of gum/candy/new toys the other is wanting her to sleep through the night (but wake up to pee) and to stop throwing toys when she gets mad or frustrated. The last toy has been thrown for free!

So I roughed out how I wanted the final layout to look. Believe it or not, this took time, I'm a bit of a stickler for putting things where they logically make sense to me. There will be one big Bristol board with smaller "cards" that can be removed or added with magnets. I have a spot where I can let Alexiss know how she can earn money, later I also decided there were a few things where she'd have to pay back money. For now I'll call them How to Earn Money and How to Loose Money Cards. The bottom of the board has sections to display what Alexiss wants to save for and how much she has earned, Reward cards

 All in One Chore/Allowance/Discipline/Praise/Reward Chart

Required Supplies:

You can use sticky notes on a wall for all intents and purposes but I decided to dress it up a little

• Bristol Board
• Play money coins
• Magnets (buttons and a strip)
• Glue Gun
• Laminate (I used Scotch brand thermal laminating pouches 110 mm by 161 mm)

Step 1: Come up with ways to earn/loose money and things to "buy" as a reward

I packed all my supplies away in one handy spot so I could play a bit, prepare dinner and brainstorm ideas for how Alexiss could earn/loose money. Examples: Earn a quarter for putting away toys, Earn a dollar for listening and focusing on mom or dad when being spoken too, loose one dollar every time she throws a toy in frustration or anger. Use money to buy candy, an iPad app... etc.

EARN - Put toys away, clear dishes from the table after a meal, go to bed without a fuss, listen to Mom/Dad the first time, vacuum, dust, do dishes, tidy bedroom, sleep through the night, pee on toilet at night, dress self, wash hands after bathroom, parent/guardian choice

LOOSE - Throw things, push/bully friends, put hands/things in mouth, parent/guardian choice

SPEND - iPad app, go shopping (dollar store), candy, gum, specific toy, 1 item from prize box (box of stickers, loot bag goodies, glow sticks, dollar store toys...etc)

Keep a notepad or paper and pen in a handy spot while you go about your normal everyday stuff and add to it every-time something comes to mind. You may want to keep it organized and keep ways to earn/loose and buy as separate sides of the paper so it's easier later. No doubt this will change as time goes on. I tried to round out behavior with hygiene and helping out around the house. I tried to steer clear of ways Alexiss could loose money and chose to only use that for behavior that is totally unacceptable. I decided to opt out of making "yelling at parents in anger" an option because I think at this time it's healthier for Ali to share her emotions and thoughts...we can reign in her in emotions later, when it becomes clear Alexiss has mastered it, then perhaps it'll make it to a card as unacceptable and a loss. There's tons of ideas online to suit every child's temperament and age, a quick search of Chore or Reward Chart will give you endless ideas, and as a Mom, I know other Moms will have some things that pop into their head right away, it could be the thing we say 100 times a day, over and over.

Step 3: Start making your content for your cards

Print and cut out the Earn/Loose/Reward cards below or use it as a template to personalize your own.

Ways to earn money (chores, praise) and ways to loose money (discipline)
Things to buy with Earned Money (Rewards) with coin equivilants

I used different color borders; green to earn money, red to loose money (pay Momma) and blue to spend money. I wanted to use clipart pictures on my cards instead of writing and drawing.  I typed out all the ways I decided Ali can earn or loose money and then went online looking for clipart. Instead of using numbers to write down the value, I wanted to use pictorials of Canadian money. I honestly think this will help motivate Alexiss and make the reward a little more realistic. I found some great Canadian money information for kids and worksheets at the kidzone website.

• There are two "Toy or Item" reward cards in my template to use if there's a special toy Ali really wants. (I'll be finding a picture of a Duplo set to print out), then I can tape the image on the outside of the card and write in the dollar amount with a wet/dry erase marker. 
• I also made one card for 1 item in a prize box and an extra prizebox card to stick on the basket/box so it's the same visual.

Step 4: Assembling your cards and coins

Laminate your cards! Remember to leave space between each card for the laminate to stick to laminate. If you don't have a laminating machine, you can use an iron. You may have to play a bit to find the right temperature on your iron so it will adhere but doesn't melt. I found the setting just below medium worked for me. Put the laminate between wax paper or thin cardstock (cereal boxes work, construction paper) and use the heat from the iron to melt the laminate together, I found quick motions was better. You could also buy self laminating pouches.

Use the strip magnet on the back of the laminated cards then fire up the glue gun and glue the button magnets onto the back of the play coins.

Step 4: Make your board

I'm choosing to make the layout on my bristol board with a marker instead of using more printer paper and ink. The green, red and blue boxes represent the cards, The black boxes and words are what I wrote right onto the Bristol board.

I really didn't have to go this far, but it was fun and I like that I can add or remove things as I see fit. If she's over zealous and decides to dust for the fifth time in a day.... I can remove that card and give it a break. If our budget is tight I can remove the option to buy and iPad app and leave up candy and gum. If I don't want Alexiss to have candy that day or there's none in the cupboard, I can remove the option to buy candy as a reward. As Alexiss grows (if this works) I can take away the chore of picking up toys and add in "do homework. I could add in rewards that are time events or special non-monetary rewards like "doing a jig-saw with Mom/Dad" or "free pretend/play time with Mom/Dad". Right now I don't want her to feel like she needs to earn and spend money for those types of activities right now though, perhaps as she gets older.