Pay for Performance

Every now and then I have a moment of parenting excellence.

Actually, the truth is, every now and then I am afforded a lazy weekend afternoon where I have the opportunity to take a forty five minute (plus+) hot bubble bath.

It is so relaxing to get away from the chitter-chatter (read: whining) and spend some quality time either catching up on Hollywood gossip or learning about the latest and greatest parenting strategies in my Family Fun Magazine.

One particular Sunday a month or so ago, I skimmed the Family Fun magazine and read about a brilliant idea.

The very next day our family adopted the concept.

This concept has been working to create good behavior 94.8% of the time since then.

Curious?

I thought you would be.

I’d like to formally introduce to you, Internet, the concept of the Daddy Dollars and the Mommy Market.

Here is the idea:
1.) Choose four to five key daily goals for your child.
2.) Pay your child a Daddy Dollar (a currency not yet on the foreign exchange market) for each goal they successfully complete.
3.) Child earns privileges, by purchasing them from the Mommy Market.

Note - It should always be rewarding to take Daddy dollars out of their envelope…never take the Daddy Dollars away once they have earned them.

At one point, we even turned it over to the kids to come up with their Daily Goals. Poor Davis doesn’t totally get the concept.

“I’ve got one,” he said enthusiastically, “Daddy Dollar for no bloody nose!”

And although it would be nice for the daily nose bleed stage to be over, I think we are going to keep it to things they can actually control for now.

Genius idea! Works Wonders! Helps with counting, adding, & subtracting! Good Behavior!

That is not to say our children “Obey Without Delay” every minute of the day.

But trust me...there is definitely LESS standing ON the kitchen table, LESS whining when brushing teethe, and LESS temper tantrums during the morning drop off. Still the occasional bloody nose though.

The other major benefit is that if I find myself in desperate need of good behavior (think photo shoot), or anything really, I can throw out Bonus Daddy Dollars.

Like…Bonus Daddy Dollar To The First Kid Who Can Bring Me A Diet Coke!

You know, if I am feeling particularly lazy or something.

Below is the official Daddy Dollar Goals and Mommy Market* Items for the Lyle Boys.

Hayden
Good attitude - $1
Brush teeth - $1
Earn froggy stamp at school - $1
Dinner table manners (sit in seat, put away plate) - $1

Davis
Drop off at daycare - $1
Good attitude - $1
Buckle seat belt, Clothes on without help - $1
Dinner table manners (sit in seat, put away plate) - $1

Mommy Market**
Watch a TV show in the evening (before 7:30 p.m.) $3
Have a friend spend the night $20 (select weekends only)
Roast Marshmallows outside $10
Ice cream $15
Movie night with popcorn $10 (weekends only)
Toy from Wal-Mart -$75 (actual price limit $12)
Toy from McDonalds - $15
Setup tent and sleep outside - $20 (weekends only)
15 minutes of iPhone time $1 (limit 1 per day)
Disney World - $600,000

*Jeff works a lot with contracts day-to-day, so of course he had to go back and add all of the fine print and stipulations in parenthesis.

**Using the above prices, don’t try to calculate the exchange rate between a U.S. Dollar and a Daddy Dollar. The math doesn’t work. I’ll be honest, I don’t know what we were thinking when we calculated some of the prices. I’d suggest using a calculator if you adopt this. Oh, and Disney World was an afterthought suggested by the kids and priced by Jeff. It happens to be the item they both are saving for.

Here’s to many, many more days of no kids standing on the kitchen table.