Doing Dollars Update

A few years ago I shared my incentive chore chart program, which I use with my kids. We call it Doing Dollars. You can read the original post HERE. I wanted to tell you a few things that I have done with the program and how I have tried different things to entice my 2nd enlisted trouper (ok, he’s totally not enlisted because I guarantee he would say that he did NOT sign up for this.)  I think all chore charts either get revamped, thrown away completely or forgotten because our kids need new things to keep them going. (I’ve included a quick review of the program at the bottom along with the link to download the Doing Dollar pdf file). Overall the Doing Dollar program has worked fabulous. The amount of nagging I had to do with my daughter before starting Doing Dollars diminished almost over night. The get-ready-for-school drama was easily replaced by responsibilities & rewards. Unfortunately I can’t say the same is true for my son, but I’m confident it works better than any other chore chart would for that boy. One of my biggest successes is that my daughter gets up every school day, gets dressed and makes her bed before she even leaves her room. It’s amazing.

DOING DOLLARS - VERSION 2.0

Here’s a few tips and variations to the program.

1. Double Doing Dollar Day

Once a week or two I will announce “Double Doing Dollar Day.” The kids earn double the dollars per chore.  This is Highly motivating.

2. Bonus Dollars

To motivate my kids to get their jobs done in the morning, they now earn a bonus dollar just for getting done by 8:30.

3. Increase the Value

My son is less then motivated by doing chores. A lot of the changes to this program have happened to help motivate him. He’s not on version 2.0 - it’s probably more like version 8.  The latest includes earning 2 Dollars for each chore.  Of course my daughter thought this was highly unfair - but I also increased the price for his rewards - not quite doubled, but enough to make it fair to her.  He’s more happy to earn about 10 Dollars a day and he’s too young to notice or care about the reward prices. It also makes Double Doing Dollar Day a huge success.

4. Pay for things other than “chores”

I call the list of chores “responsibilities” because sometimes they have to do things that aren’t necessarily chores.  I  pay them for things that they don’t like to do but need to do. My daughter doesn’t like to take a shower, so she earns a dollar if she does it without complaining.  While my son doesn’t like to brush his teeth - so he earns a dollar if he does it without complaining. Also, to motivate an early reader they can earn a dollar for reading a book.

5. Make changes regularly - keep it fresh

Of course my kids get a new list for the summer, but they also get a new list about half way through the school year.  I find that after a few months they are ready for a few changes.  This is when I introduced the bonus dollars, or a new chore. I also make changes to their rewards. They are excited to see a new reward on the chart. Minor charges are usually made to the price of rewards also.

6. New Responsibilities

As mentioned above, I make changes every few months. Some things I have added along the way are: a daily chore such as a specific room to pick up, take out the trash, put the dishes away, etc.  I’ve also added a bathroom chore - something small, but I’m hoping it will train them to keep a clean bathroom.  A really good one to have on the list is “Extra Chore.” If an extra chore or kind deed is approved, they can earn additional dollars each day without limit.

7. Stick to the list - both the chores and rewards

Our kids earn Doing Dollars only for the things on their list. Of course we have left it open with the “Extra Chore” but they do not earn dollars for everything we ask.  And they have not come to expect that either.  On the other side - the rewards, it is also important to always have them pay for any reward on their list. See below.

8. Choose your rewards wisely & be consistent

Pick rewards that are going to motive your child, but don’t put a reward on the list that they will pay for only part of the time.  Be consistent. Example: I do not have TV time on my list because the television is my tool. There are times that I need the TV to distract my kids while I make dinner or something.  It is something I like to use at my discretion. Another example: For a while my husband would let our son play the wii every now and again without paying for it and he started to say he didn’t need to do his chores because dad would still let him play. Instead, now, we offer ideas for extra chores if he needs a few more dollars. So choose your rewards wisely and stick to the program. If you find that you offer a reward for free too often you may want to remove it from the list.

A quick review of the program:

This is a reward based program. My kids earn printed “Doing Dollars” for their chores.  They are able to use those dollars to purchase rewards, such as computer time, late night, a new book, etc. They have a print out on their bedroom doors telling them what each chore is worth and how much each reward costs.  Below is an example.  When my kids were just learning to read I would also include a picture next to each “responsibility” to help remind them.

This is the dollar I designed. At the center is the CTR logo - which stands for Choose the Right. Truly they have to choose to be responsible. Also, they DO NOT earn a Doing Dollar if they whine or complain, they have to do it right.

You can download the Doing Dollars HERE.  I have them 14 to a sheet, so they are fairly small - which is perfect. Then I print them in grey scale on colored cardstock. I use different colors for each kid so there is never any mix ups.