Mommy Money Update

The Mommy Money project is going very well.

For new readers or those who may have missed it the first time, I found the Mommy Money idea at Nikki and Danny. You can read my post about it here.

In short, the boys earn Mommy Money throughout the week for being helpful, being extra nice, following the rules as they should, etc. White chips are 1, blue chips are 10 and a red chip is minus one. The threat of a red chip has halted many a tantrum thus far.

Every Sunday evening, the boys get to shop at the Mommy Store with their chips they have earned. They take turns choosing items.

For the most part, I keep the Mommy Store contents a secret until I am ready for them to shop. I tend to stock it with a lot of food because our boys are really skinny and need the extra calories. We do this early enough that they will have time to eat what they buy. I set the Mommy Store up on the kitchen table in 3 categories: 1 Mommy Money, 5 Mommy Money and 10 Mommy Money.

Here is a list of some of the items the boys can purchase:

1Mommy Money
Hershey's Kisses
Krabby Patty Gummies
Smarties
Laffy Taffy
Single pieces of gum

5 Mommy Money
Single Serving boxes of cereal
Fruit by the Foot
Pop Rocks
2 Quarters
small notepads
mini ice cream sandwich
stretchy bracelet

10 Mommy Money
Certificate to have a friend over
Instant lottery ticket
book
Hot Wheels vehicle
candy bar
20 oz. root beer
Screwball ice cream treat
package of markers
full-size notebook

$1 bill

Speakers for their Gameboys I found for $1 at Save-A-Lot.

These are just a few of the things that the boys have really liked. I try to keep the items to under $1. I also write out certificates for things if I haven't gotten to stock up in time. They're simply a scrap of paper with, "Good for _____" on them. I then write the buyer's name on the certificate and put it in my purse for the next time I shop. My boys tend to like the 10 Mommy Money items. They only buy the 1 Mommy Money items if they have leftover chips. They can also carry chips over to the next week.

Almost every week, they buy something for each other or buy something to share with each other. They know that they will get Mommy Money for doing that, too. I don't mind bribing rewarding them for doing things they should do because it just serves to remind them to do nice things and that helping around the house is important enough to us to take notice.

There are also some other benefits of Mommy Money. Steven (4) counts his own chips out to trade in 10 white for a blue one. Both boys have offered to do things to help out without being asked or reminded first. Matthew has made Steven's bed for him a few times. When they ask for something I normally wouldn't buy for them while grocery shopping, I tell them I'll buy it, but it's going in the Mommy Store. They have never complained about this because they know they'll be able to "buy" it later and it gives them something to look forward to.