Mom’s dollar store hack is a creative way to teach kids about consequences

This mom created a fun and creative system for rewarding her kids’ good behavior using items she purchased at the dollar store!

Michelle Darna (@thekindaketomama) is a mom who loves sharing funny videos, keto recipes, and creative parenting hacks on TikTok. Michelle, who describes herself as the “CEO of my own life,” takes charge when it comes to parenting her kids.

In a recent video, she shared how she created a complex system of rewards using items from the dollar store to teach her kids about the consequences of their actions.

In the video, Michelle starts by purchasing a variety of glass gems from the dollar store. She places the gems into separate Mason jars, assigning each of her children a different color of gem. Then she assigns each of her children a glass bowl, which she fills with gems from the Mason jars as her kids complete different tasks. 

Michelle explains that her kids can earn gems through positive behavior and lose gems through negative behavior. 

“They can either earn one gem for doing something small even just saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ or they can earn a lot of gems for doing something that is harder work or a bigger deal, but if they don’t do the right things then they can get them taken out of their jar as well,” she explains. 

As the children’s bowls fill up with gems, they can earn different prizes. “I wrote their names in a Sharpie [on the bowls] and created this little 1, 2, 3, 4 gauge and when they get 1, 2, or 3 levels, then they can pick something out of their little prize box,” the creative parent explains. 

At the first 3 levels, the kids can choose prizes from a small box of toys that Michelle keeps at home. But the 4th level is the ultimate prize: A trip to the dollar store to pick out any $5 item. 

Many viewers applauded Michelle’s parenting hack, though some felt her reward system would send the wrong message to kids. 

“I do the exact same thing with my son but with little plastic gold coins! Then he uses the coins to buy things in priced bins,” responded one parent. 

“I can’t wait until my kiddos are old enough to do this with!” another grateful parent replied. 

One skeptical viewer wrote, “This seems dangerous, like isn’t this teaching them if they do good they will always get something out of it?”

Some researchers believe that rewarding kids can have negative outcomes later in life, while others believe rewards can encourage good behavior and increase self-esteem. 

If you’re interested in trying out motivating your kids with rewards, Michelle has created a creative, inexpensive way to do it!

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