motivate your kids to help with mom bucks • notice the LITTLE things

what is your biggest struggle as a mom? i have many, and they change from age to age, but the two that come up most often are:

{1} getting my kids to clean up without being asked.

{2} getting my kids to behave and be nice to each other consistently.

we solved the first struggle with our job chart. it has been a total lifesaver in reducing chore-related arguments in our house. it is the most basic job chart EVER, but it works. {you can read more about its simple magic and grab a copy for your own family here}.

the second struggle is much trickier. behavior. SO many things can affect behavior. the same goes with the way my kids play together. when they’re good at these things, they’re really good. and when they’re not? it’s hard.

last summer i was looking for a way to make my kids more mindful of their behavior and interactions. summer always magnifies these issues because we spend SO much time together.

i was talking with my friend mary, and she mentioned she started a system she called mom bucks. she explained that her kids earned fake money for doing positive things around the house. then they used the money to pay for things they wanted, such as screen time.

mom bucks sounded like something we could use to address BOTH of our consistent struggles – chores AND behavior – so i set about making it work for our family. since summer is once again around the corner, i am revamping our mom bucks system and thought it would be fun to share it with all of you!

these are our new PAID jobs. paid jobs are in addition to our daily job chart. our daily job chart did not change, but i added a $5 mom buck payment if morning and evening chores are done without asking and without complaint.

in addition to new paid jobs, our mom bucks chart includes tasks related to behavior and getting along. everything is organized by category. this helped me think of things to include that were age-appropriate and spread across multiple areas of the house.

our mom bucks “bank” is located on my kitchen desk. we use play money we already had and the kiddos keep their money in an envelope that is pinned to the cork board above the bank. super simple!

my kids definitely made a better effort to extend kindness and put others first with this new system. if you want to make it easy on yourself and use this mom bucks chart, you can sign up and grab a copy for your family here. you will also gain access to our job chart and other fun printables to help create a home and space where your family can thrive.

our mom bucks store is detailed on a separate sheet. i did not want this new system to cost me a lot of money, so i brainstormed experience rewards first – staying up later, extra time with mom/dad, having a friend over. then i considered things my kids love like screen time, watching shows, and treats. for the toys column, we took a trip to the dollar store and dollar spot and each kiddo got $5 TOTAL to spend on toys to earn throughout the summer.

once the responsibilities and the store were defined, i went over the new system with the kids. these are the three main points we discussed:

you can earn mom bucks by doing things that are listed on the mom bucks chart. if you do something else that you think should earn you mom bucks, you are welcome to make your case.
you can lose mom bucks by complaining, not listening, not doing something the first time you’re asked, and unkind words towards family members or friends. the amount lost is always up to me depending on the severity of the offense.
you can spend mom bucks at any time. rewards can only be bought in the increments detailed on the list. you have to save up the full amount for each item.

i started each kiddo off with 10 free mom bucks, so they could feel extra excited about the whole thing. that was all it took for them to spend the next few days banking as many mom bucks as possible. no surprise, my son saved up for screen time and my daughter saved up for time to spend with mom and dad.

the mom bucks system is exactly what our family needed. it gave me a plan for endless summer requests – can i watch a show? can i play on the iPad? can i have a friend over? can i have a treat? can i stay up later? can i have some new pool toys? can we go to the movies? can you buy water balloons? SURE, turn in your mom bucks!

did this turn my kids into perfect angels? ha. no. i’m not sure anything could do that! but there is no denying a dramatic improvement in behavior, their response to my requests, and getting along since we started mom bucks. mom bucks gave me a tool to help motivate behavior in this new season when time out isn’t much of a consequence anymore. no one around here wants to lose hard earned mom bucks!

you can grab everything you need to start this system in your own house for FREE in the LITTLE printable library here. plus, you’ll gain access to other helpful resources for making your home a place where the LITTLE things can flourish! once downloaded, you can personalize the mom bucks jobs and mom bucks store for your family, and transform behavior and attitudes around YOUR house too!