Tickets for Chores

When my kids (and fosters) were young, I bought a roll of tickets (like those at a carnival). They are available at places like WalMart. I made lists of chores, age appropriate for each child. Each chore was assessed as to how many tickets it was worth. (I also included personal hygiene things like brushing teeth, etc.). Some of the chores were really simple, hanging up your towel or putting clothes away.

I watched clearance racks for prizes, such as: toys, stuffed animals, fancy pencils, new notebooks, art supplies, and so on. Other prizes; might be things like: 1-1 time with mom for an evening or choice of video for family night. Each prize was assessed an amount of tickets. Then as the kids accumulated tickets, they could "buy" their prizes. Some kids couldn't wait to spend their tickets, and would buy the trinket prizes, but soon realized that by saving them, they could get better prizes.

So, chores got done, and the kids learned the lessons of earning and saving. This tends to work best with younger kids, from little to maybe age 10 or so.

Source: I was a foster parent for 15 years and had to be creative to teach kids responsibility and accountability. This made it fun!

By Pam T from Storm Lake, IA