Karma, Kudos, ...?
A Gold Star was a common reward when I was a child (long ago), and I imagine it still is. If I remember, we were awarded silver stars and maybe other colors for lesser accomplishments and gold stars signified multiple lesser accomplishments. (5 silver stars converted into 1 gold star).
If the children are all boys, something like a military rank might work. I don't know if there is something equivalent for girls or for mixed groups.
I think we received more tangible rewards at some point after reaching some goal. Being appointed a new role or responsibility or being called a leader (which actually had a job description) were some of the rewards.
I am using the Agile methodology at work. (Enjoying it, as well, although you should ask other software developers whether they also enjoy it!)
Believing that I should practice what I preach, I am also using the Agile methodology in my personal life. I have adopted a chapter from Mindhacker and combined it with LeanKit.
Different chores have different point values. Carrying your laundry to your room and putting it away earns 1 point. Feeding the dog earns 1 point. Emptying the trash and recycle bin earns 2 points. Unloading the dishwasher earns 3 points. Washing the dishes + loading the dishwasher + wiping the counters earns 4 points.
Agile calls these story points. Agile recommends using a Fibonacci sequence (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13...) for different story points. The idea is to do a relative sizing, not to document time. For us, feeding the chickens or taking the trash bins curbside is a little more odious, so those chores garner more points.
LeanKit calls these (a rather bland) size.
Using LeanKit on a web interface or an iOS app, a chore gets moved from the "to do" to "in progress" as the child (or me or my wife) begins the chore. When it is completed, they move it to the "done" column.
The family took to this rather well when I mixed in a Mindhacker incentive: I paid out cash relative to the proportion of story points earned.
It sounds like you are creating a kind of virtual currency. Kids today see this all the time, in games. So I suggest you try a game metaphor / verbiage they will be familiar with:
Mana
If this works, you may try to further gamify the motivation by creating Levels, or Titles that come with certain amounts of points / mana. These are like badges on FourSquare, etc.
Then assign privileges with these levels: e.g.
- may delegate (1) chore / month to a sibling;
- stay out later;
- official decider of desert-location
- extra cash for books;
They may find it extra-fun if they have to spend these points / mana in order to gain a Level. Then levels are non-linear, any child can get levels as they choose, and siblings can specialize differently from each other.
In the business world, to which you may want to humorously treat them, such an incentive is called a
"Cert"
This is a slang, foreshortening the word "Certified Bonus." It is 'certified' because it is guaranteed, given a certain kind of pre-defined behavior. This guarantee very-much motivated behavior.
If the incentives were edible, you may consider:
Treats, Goodies
When I was a kid we had a Merit Board at my grandmas. 7 cousins stayed over the summer for weeks at a time. The kid with the most merits got to pick what was on TV that night. The weekly winner got to pick Sunday dinner.
Which is fun because you have merits and demerits for the bad things. So if we take out the trash that is a merit. Clean out the garage, maybe 5 *merits*... Punch cousin in the gut, two demerits.
Only if there was a Demerit Board and I would have watched CHIPS every night...
First, a written contract with rules and how "points" are rewarded; signed by all. It should be displayed on a wall for easy reference.
Then you decide on what form the points should be. Why not do a little copying from EL&U and other social networks?
- Thumbs-ups or "likes"
- Badges or medals (make your own)
- Promotion (e.g.; trusted helper or respected contributor)
5 thumbs-ups = 1 bronze badge/medal
5 bronze badges/medals = 1 silver badge/medal
5 silver badges/medals = 1 gold badge/medal
5 gold badges/medals = "Promotion"
Once they achieve promotion they get to ask you to do something which you have previously agreed upon and signed in the contract. Let them choose, it doesn't matter how silly, daft, or funny. If they can't come up with anything, suggest a day trip for the whole family to enjoy.