Happy New Year! We hope it is off to a great start for you and your family.

At Thrive Family Consulting, we kicked off the New Year with a new Nanny Training Series on Child Behavior. This will be a three-part series, with the first session’s topic being: The Science of Behavior and Positive Reinforcement.

We spent some time introducing the Science of Human Behavior, and the definitions of reinforcement and punishment. We then focused the rest of the class on the topic of Positive Reinforcement - the most effective means of changing human behavior.

One system of Positive Reinforcement that we discussed in detail was the Token Economy System. These resemble Reward Charts, but are based in science and have more specific criteria.

Token economies work to show reinforcement, and to visualize how much work is left. Essentially, the individual receives a “token” for engaging in a specific desired behavior. Once a predetermined number of these tokens are acquired, the individual can exchange tokens for a desired item or activity. Broadly speaking, our paychecks are tokens for the behavior of doing our jobs, and our purchases are the desired items and activities.

First, you will need to decide on a target behavior that will earn the tokens. What behavior would you like to see more of from your child? Is it using the potty? Going to bed without a fuss? Getting ready for school on time?

When introducing a token economy, you want the child to feel successful and buy into the system, so when you start using it for the first time, make sure the child has quick access to the reinforcement. This means you will need to start off with easy goals at first when they are “learning the system”. Over time, you can increase the effort level, but do this slowly, and only after they have had some successes under their belt.

In order to achieve success using a token economy, your child will need to know exactly what behavior it is that you want to see more of. Instead of setting a vague behavioral goal, such as “be nice to your sister,” make it more specific and descriptive; something like “use gentle hands when you play together". Role play examples and non-examples of the desired behavior to make sure the child really understands what is expected of them. Be silly when you role play, YOU be the child and let him or her be the adult; make it fun!

Next, you’ll need to decide on a token, and system. The tokens can be anything. You might get more buy-in from the children if they get to choose the type of tokens. Some examples are: stickers on a sticker chart, pom-poms in a jar, play money, or a puzzle piece (when the puzzle is completed, they earn the reward).

Then, you will need to decide how many tokens will earn the big reward, and what that reward will be. Are they working towards a single item, or can the choose from a menu? If you decide on a menu, you can make different items/activities have different “prices”.

When deciding on rewards to offer, the possibilities are endless, but the value of the prize to them should resemble the amount of effort it took to earn it. You want to offer bigger prizes for bigger effort.

If you allow the child to have input into what they can earn, the chances of it actually motivating them is greater. You can even make a group goal if you have siblings who are motivated for the same prize.

Some low-cost examples of reinforcers that might be earned through a token economy include:

• Delayed bedtime by a determined number of minutes

• Dance Party

• Getting to choose the next night’s dinner or breakfast

• Getting to choose the music on the next car ride

• Nail painting/fancy hairdo

• Afternoon at the park

• Slip-n-Slide, Sprinklers

• Make a snowman/sled in the backyard

• Make cupcakes/cookies together

• Make slime/playdough together

• Let the tokes be pieces of a new Lego set, or paint set, and when they’ve earned them all, they can play with it

• One play money dollar=one minute of an activity of their choice

We had a great discussion with some lovely nannies who took time out of their Sunday for professional development, and clearly want to be the best nannies to your children that they can be! As the session wrapped up, we shared a handout that includes a blank Token Economy Template as well as some quick reminders about important elements of the system. Here is that link for you, too!