The Good Job Jar

I started this system a couple years ago to help Teegan with positive and negative reinforcement. It helped him understand right and wrong, praise him for his good deeds, and to also show him that when he makes bad choices there are consequences.

We started this system and used it for about 6 months, and then I stopped using it, no idea why either, because it was effective!

So, now we are starting it again,(since he is full of attitude and sass, and not made of sugar and spice and everything nice) and since I can’t find the marbles we are using buttons with the same concept.

What you will need:

1.2 jars

2.Several marbles or buttons. (you can use a variety of      things for this)

3.A goody box filled with prizes. (I found it more effective to have real prizes from the dollar tree than to have coupons. Either I forgot to do or take him to do whatever on the coupon or he didn’t care because it wasn’t something he could have instantly.)

4.Stickers or paper to decorate the praise jar (not required)

How it works:

~Have one empty jar and the other jar filled with the marbles.

~We decorated the praise jar (because I love any excuse to use the hot glue gun and be crafty!) and we kept the other jar plain

~ We work our way to 20 marbles. Once you get 20 you get a prize.

~ He gets to put the marbles in the jar when he’s earned one. (clearing his plate from the table, picking up toys, putting clothes in the hamper, no fits at dinner, completing homework…)

~ Take a marble out for bad behavior… (I mainly took marbles out for fit throwing)

It's as easy as that!

Teegan would get so excited to get a marble he started asking to help out around the house more, and I could tell he tried to behave because he wanted to have the satisfaction of putting a marble in the jar. When he misbehaved and I threaten to take a marble away, or if he had to do it himself it broke his heart and really made him think twice before doing the same thing again.

And since he has been quite rotten with the fit throwing and not wanting to listen, we are putting the marble jar back into full swing starting right now!