What is Allowance Bot?
Using technology to help parents and children keep track of their allowance and is available through a company called Wingbot. Sign me up. Watch the following video and read more below about the app.
Parents have to determine if chores deserve an allowance and what is considered an allowance. Some parents view certain chores at home part of being the family. We recommend parents evaluate whether providing an allowance for their child is something that will motivate them to complete tasks as a reward. ALLOWANCE DOES NOT NEED TO BE MONETARY. Parents can use the sheet Finding the Right Reasons from the Correcting Behaviors skill to determine what is motivating for their child.
What does it do?
- Keeps track of chores and allowance on your device. If your child as an electronic device they can also use this app.
- Parents can add multiple children and assign different chores to each of them.
- Parents can set the reward amount for every chore.
- Provides reminders for children of chores they need to do every day.
- Once a chore is complete the child can check the box that it is finished and it notifies the parent the chore is done.
- It requires a parent to approve the completed chore before allowance is given. Parents can also unapprove a chore if it is not completed appropriately.
- Parents can provide additional notes about the chore for more detail.
- Keeps track of what chores are done and how much allowance was given.
- Parents have the option of providing and Reward (more allowance) or Punishment (take allowance away) with a click of a button.
Benefits of using this app
This app really helps parents and children keep track without the use of charts, stickers, paper money, etc. Sometimes it is hard to remember to keep on top of charts. By moving these interactions to phones allows parents greater flexibility and more control on their terms. This app provides a concrete record of things that happened during the past 30 days.
It is also easy to use.
Effective rewards and allowance
Parents may struggle understanding allowance and rewards. Smarter Parenting will be releasing a new video class sharing what makes rewards (and consequences) effective. This class is applicable for allowances as well. For now, we recommend parents consider the following items to be sure rewards and allowance are effective in motivating your child and improving their behavior.
There are four things that make allowance and positive rewards effective:
IMMEDIATE: This means the parent should give an allowance right after a behavior occurs, or as soon as possible. This connects the behavior and the outcome in your child’s mind.
DEGREE/SIZE: This means the size of the reward or allowance. Typically, parents should try to give the smallest allowance amount they think will be effective. For example, if your child cleans the kitchen it would be unreasonable to give them $100 for the task. Give them an allowance (or reward) that is equal to the chore.
CONSISTENCY: This is important for parents. It is about following through. If your give your child an allowance some of the time and don’t follow through other times your child will also be inconsistent.
IMPORTANCE: The allowance has to mean something to your child.
By following these four recommendations parents should be able to determine how to establish an allowance or reward system that will be motivating for their child.
Is there an app that you use as a parent that you would like to share with other parents? Please let us know. We would love to review it.