Being a mom is hard work. Parenting kids is always an adventure in disciplining, leading, correcting and teaching. I am always adjusting and trying new things to help encourage positive behavior with my girls. We have been doing the marble (we use puff balls) system for a few weeks now and it has been going well.
Whats is the Marble / Puff Ball System?
Each time you notice your child making good choices, you reward them by having them add a puff ball to his jar. For our family some good choices consist of:
- Using their manners (please, thank you, you are welcome, excuse me)
- Doing their chores
- Being nice
(Over all, generally smart choices that are caught when they are not expecting others to see.) Each time you notice your child making poor choices, you having them remove a puff ball from his jar. For our family some poor choices might be:
- Yelling. Fighting. Arguing.
- Not playing nice with others.
(Overall, general poor choices fall in this category.)
** The most important thing when using any reward system is consistency. You must be consistent with your rewards and punishments. **
How Long Does it Take to Fill Up? It normally takes about a month to fill up. When we first started using this method, I wanted to make it fill up a little quicker so that they are able to get their first reward and understand it. Sometimes I will use cotton balls as an incentive: “If you ____, you will earn an extra cotton ball today.” (Works great for this, but I don’t do this too often because I don’t want it to lose its real purpose.)
What Happens When Their Jar is Full? The girls get to go shopping or do something fun (within reason). Example is shopping for a new outfit or toy. Some activities have been getting your nails done or going on a date with mom or dad. Supplies Needed
- Marbles / Puffs
- A Jar (or something to put the earned marbles in)
- Consistency from the parents
We have been using the puff ball jar for a few weeks now. The girls are very eager to earn (and not lose) their puffs. When in public or even at home, when a poor choice is noticed, I just need to simply say puff ball… and I have their attention quickly. They understand. They usually quickly adjust their behavior.
I find that rewarding my children for their positive choices (instead of only focusing on their poor choices) is a great method. It works for us!
XoXo | Nicole
