A Token Exchange/Economy System (TES) is one of the most effective ways to keep your child motivated. TES can be seen as an upgraded version of a traditional reward system.

Many parents develop systems that become very complicated and hence become hard to maintain with time. The key is to keep it simple and precise. Here are the steps to follow to come up with a TES that will help keep your child motivated and excited.

1.       Select what will serve as tokens-tally marks/stickers/stars/hearts on a chart; plastic bottle caps; monopoly money/plastic poker chips/marbles etc

2.       Break the day into smaller segments– as waiting all day to earn rewards may be too long for some children. You may want to implement this system of reward only for morning routines as that may be the chunk of the day where your child needs extra motivation to get things done or it may be the afternoon time when school remote learning kicks in or it may be the bedtime that is most challenging in your household.

3.       Identify three behaviors –one that your child can easily do, one that needs slight improvement and one that is particularly challenging for your child.

4.       Create an appealing/exciting rewards menu-include things you know get your child excited, such as bath toys/ bubble baths/princess swimming suit/ privilege to stay up late/extra time on video games/ice cream sundae/family board game time/ family picnic/ pool time/extra story at bedtime…..

5.       Assign value to each reward-1 token for bottle of bubbles, 10 tokens for swimming suit and so on and so forth

6.       Establish the exchange or the economy-write the details of how many tokens will be given for desired behavior. For example, the behavior your child can easily to do will earn 1 token and so on.

Remember:

·       State goals in positive ways-say KEEP YOUR HANDS TO YOURSELF instead of saying don’t hit your sister.

·       TES is a positive system of rewards aimed at rewarding your child not a system of punishment where your child can see what he could have earned had he engaged in the right behaviors.

·       Physically hand the token to your child, catch them being good!

·       Create a way for your child to store/collect the tokens earned– a shoe box with a slot on the lid and covered in colorful wrapping paper/jar/piggy bank. This helps keep your child motivated to earn more!

·       TES is not about spending a lot of money, explore the rewards menu together in a creative way, include things like a family picnic at your favorite park or backyard, family fun hour in your pool or board game night or a family movie night with special popcorn!

Establishing TES takes some effort on your part initially but it is well worth your while in the end. A good TES should get your child excited and help him stay motivated. It is a positive system to let your child know that his efforts are not only noticed but also rewarded.