Parenting Practices:Mood Meter and Chore Score

A few weeks ago I was trying to figure out a way to help the kids be engaged, helpful and pleasant in the home.  They kept telling me I hadn't paid them allowance but I didn't have a concrete way to track whether or not they had earned it.  
I woke up in the middle of the night with these words in my head, "Mood Meter and Chore Score."  Divine intervention saved the day.  Here is how it works:

Every time I ask the kids to do a job and they do it to completion without a lot of reminders they get a chore score.  Also if I see them playing nicely or helping a sibling they get a chore score.


The mood meter is for keeping track of basically anything that makes me cranky.  Fighting, lollygagging, disobedience, whining, bickering, being a Contrary Mary or Larry, refusal to do a job, being rowdy in the car...there are lots of things that make me cranky.  While the kids can get a chore score without knowing it, I always tell them when they are getting a mood meter.  

At the end of the week as long as they have more chore scores than mood meters they get their allowance.  So far they end up with between 30 and 37 chore scores and about 10-15 mood meters.  So far Jacob has the most of both.  He is passionate so he gets more mood meters for outbreaks, but he is also home more often than the other kids and is VERY helpful so he gets the most chore scores.


The result of this program is that when the kids are being good I recognize it and that makes me happy.  When they are making bad choices I now longer get all tense trying to figure out a consequence that is appropriate and effective.  All anger and frustration (ok most of it) is gone, I just simply state, "Mood Meter."


The kids have been more pleasant, helpful and happy because they are getting a regular allowance.  They are learning that they don't have to like things but they do have to be polite.  They are learning the value of money.  They are learning that we are a team and if Momma ain't happy, nobody's happy.