We've got a new system of commerce in our home: TV tickets (which is a bit of a misnomer since we don't actually get any channels.) The amount of time our kids spend watching videos or DVDs is modest, but I was getting tired of being asked everyday whether or not they could watch something.So I went out and bought two rolls of tickets. Every Friday, Maren is given some purple tickets and Malcolm is given green tickets. Each ticket is worth thirty minutes of watching and they get to choose how to "spend" their tickets throughout the week. They also have the option of saving them in the "book bank," where each ticket is magically transformed into one dollar toward a book purchase. (Hmmm ... maybe Mitch and I should have computer tickets.)
We've been at it for a few weeks and the system seems to be working very well. The kids seem to be developing self-regulation, decision-making skills, and a basic understanding of spending and saving. Plus, I don't have to be the grouchy nay-sayer!
10 comments:
That's great! I think I'm going to try that. Are you familiar with the site parenthacks.com? If not, check it out. I think this is one they could use, too!
I'm not familiar with parenthacks.com -- I'll check it out. Thanks for the tip. You can feel free to submit the idea to their site, too, as I only occasionally get around to doing non-essential things!
As I read your site, and am amazed at how thoughtful both of you parent, I don't know how you developed the skills you have Melanie. I admire both of you for how you take every aspect of child development into consideration when raising your family. Bravo!!!!
i'm curious, i don't have kids yet but we're expecting, so i don't know what they actually do all day, but what do yours spend the rest of the time doing?
Hi there, Anonymous! Let's see, what do they do all day? We play together, and the two of them play together, we do quite a bit of reading, some drawing and crafts, puzzles, listening to music and audio books, playing outside, baking and cooking... regular kid stuff, I guess.
If you need ideas, the books by Trish Kuffner (The Toddler's Busy Book, The Preschooler's Busy Book, etc.) are a great resource.
Mel- I was reading about this on lifehacker and thought, "Wow! M&M would LOVE this idea!" And as I went down the permalink, I found out it WAS your idea! Sweet!
Link: http://lifehacker.com/software/family-hacks/use-tickets-to-help-kids-manage-their-screen-time-259867.php
Excellent idea! Seems like my wife and I are constantly bombarded with the same question, well, okay, maybe not constantly :)
Thank you for sharing!
I loved this idea and started applying it right away, with just a little modification. I'm giving my children $10 per ticket. Did you say $1? You people are either really poor or really cheap.
A bit of both, actually... both poor and cheap!
$1 seems to be just the right value for us, but I guess the value of each ticket would depend on how many tickets you give your kids, how much time each ticket is worth, and your family's income level. What you want to accomplish with the system would also affect the value of each ticket. I hope you have success with applying the idea to your family!
On second thought, I am doing the math and it will turn out to be expensive. My kids aren't watching too much TV these days. Will go for $1 tickets :P
Thanks again for your advice!
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