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Hi there!

Welcome to Oli’s world! Whether driven by curiosity or by need, we’re excited that you have joined our growing community of parents and carers who value a more inclusive future for their children. We know that parenting is the world’s most rewarding job, but, let’s face it, also the most challenging one at times. That’s where we come in.

Our tenth newsletter introduces the token economy, an educational strategy aimed at improving the relationship with one's children and increasing their positive behaviour and ability to respect rules.

But what exactly are we talking about? Well, imagine having a secret currency, as if you were in some kind of parallel world. Instead of using real money, children earn tokens for every positive behaviour or task they complete.

And the great thing is that these tokens can be exchanged for rewards! Children can spend their tokens to invite a friend over for a play date, for extra time to spend watching TV or even for a treat. There is a whole 'market' of rewards available!

I am Ilaria, Oli help’s Clinical Psychologist and Psychotherapist and today

I am going to explain why we encourage establishing a token system

with your child:

Children must learn self-motivation and that isn’t always easy, especially when it comes to unrewarding activities or for which the benefit isn’t immediately clear.

Cooperation is more effective than conflict - as a parent, you’ll spend less time repeating rules and more time praising successes.

This strategy strengthens mutual trust - children will learn the value of perseverance and patience, gaining not only rewards but also self-worth.

Children learn more through play and this turns educational challenges into opportunities for play and learning.

Using a points and rewards system encourages achievement through its clear structure, immediate feedback and tangible motivation!

Our 5-step guide to the token economy will help you increase good behaviour without the slightest effort!

Make the contract with your child!

How does it work? A token economy, effectively ‘a points and rewards system’, serves as a behavioural contract with the child, whereby points are awarded, in the form of tokens or other symbolic currency, for compliance with rules or the implementation of desirable behaviour. Points are accumulated by the child and can be exchanged for concrete rewards, also agreed upon with parents.

Someone might think "Why on earth should I reward my child for behaving well? Is it not their duty?"

For many children, but even more so for those with ADHD, it is particularly challenging to find the motivation needed to initiate and maintain goal-oriented behaviours.

To support these children, we need to externalise motivation using  alternative sources of positive reinforcement that are more immediate, more frequent and longer-lasting than is usually necessary. Let’s not forget we can be very demanding as adults, when we ask kids to take turns, not run or keep their things in order… most people need the right incentive to achieve great things!

Further, the token system, being based on a shared agreement, shifts parents and children away from being in conflict to cooperating towards a common goal. This relieves the parent-child relationship from  exchanges of unpleasant emotions and misunderstandings and reinforces mutual trust. As a parent, you’ll find you won’t constantly have to repeat what you expect, because it is agreed in advance and written in clear letters (perhaps on a nice coloured poster). On the other hand, your child will be relieved not to be reprimanded constantly for what they fail to do, but rather will gain attention and praise for their efforts and achievements. This new, relational set-up will increase the child’s sense of self-efficacy and self-worth.

How to set up a token economy

To make the perfect contract, we’ve come up with Oli’s simple 5-step guide:

1. Select positive behaviours to focus on, starting with the already known behaviours. Be specific and positive in language. For example, "Brushing teeth independently" or "Put away toys after playing".

    

2. Establish the tokens to be used and assign a number of tokens appropriate to each behaviour. Take into account the degree of difficulty (e.g. 1 token each time the child brushes his teeth; 2 tokens for putting away toys...). Make a board that clearly shows the rules of the system, making sure it is accessible and visible to the child.

    

3. Agree on a menu of small, medium and large rewards or privileges that can be 'bought' with a proportional number of tokens. (e.g. Pokemon cards in exchange for 5 tokens; choosing a film to watch in the evening in exchange for 10 tokens).

    

4. Implement the system and allocate tokens for targeted behaviour. Don't forget praise and smiles. For example: 'You did great! You earned a token for putting your plate in the sink after dinner!'...

    

5. Keep the system dynamic to ensure that it is always effective and engaging: change token values and rewards if interest wanes.  As behaviour becomes consistent, gradually increase the effort required to earn tokens, working on internal motivation beyond the token system.

Unfortunately children with ADHD easily lose interest in stimuli, even pleasurable ones, therefore parents must remain ahead of the game and ensure the motivation behind token economy efforts is constantly revived. The child must be able to exchange tokens rather frequently for agreed rewards, but may also decide to wait patiently for larger rewards, gradually building self-motivation...

Now that we’ve revealed all the secrets of the token economy, why not start trading? With a little patience, your child will become a token tycoon and you can have fun raising the stakes higher and higher!

And if you initially wondered "Why on earth should I reward my child for behaving well??" and are still not convinced, see it as their first approach to economics!

If you enjoyed our newsletter, let us know and invite a friend to subscribe or perhaps share this one in your class parents' chat!

Have a question? Have some feedback? Want to share what’s on your mind? Contact us directly on info@olihelp.com as we’d love to hear from you.
 

Love,

Ilaria

Our newsletters are written with the contribution of the clinicians in our team and backed by evidence-based research. We are not a substitute for clinical or medical advice, we’re here to help you make sense of kids’ diverse minds and help you evolve your own behavioural patterns.