Nikki and Danny: After 12 years, the Mommy Store continues!

I started a Mommy Store when I only had 3 kids and now it's still going strong with 8. You can type in Mommy Store in the search bar of my blog and you'll see past posts about it.

It was started as a motivation to behave. We didn't know at the time that my oldest, Pookie, has Aspergers (High-Functioning Autism). We were on the lookout for a disclipine system that he would respond to.

They get rewarded for good behavior with tokens or tickets or money that they can then use to buy treats and whatnot at The Mommy Store. We currently use money.

For about a year, The Mommy Store reward system had been converted into a tool to teach money to the little kids. We weren't consistently using it anymore as a way of discipline, but we weren't ready for it to go away. Everyone still enjoyed it.

Every couple of months or so, all the children would get a dollar in play money. They got to shop from The Mommy Store for the sole purpose of figuring out what's a good deal, how many things they can buy, that money isn't limitless, etc.

These regular attempts at teaching money management seemed to help as I see some of them carefully save every penny. Of course, I also still see some eager to spend every single coin they have as if it's burning a hole in their pocket.

I realized that my kids could still learn about money without me just handing money over to them. So we went back to our original reason for having the store.

For a while I did away with it when my kids were not willing to do things to help unless something was in it for them. If this kind of behavior increases, I don't let them visit the store for a while. It's a delicate balance between handing over rewards for good behavior and letting them understand the heavenly rewards for obedience and service.

We are back to using it again to encourage good behavior. Sometimes, no one wants to help with particularly heinous jobs, and I say, "Whoever helps with X will be rewarded with Mommy Money." That usually does the trick and I get volunteers.

Our card table was our wrapping station at Christmas time except when I set up the store on it.

Some friends have asked me, "Why does a teenager have interest in The Mommy Store?"

I asked Gabbers, 15 1/2, a few questions.

Me: How do you earn money for The Mommy Store?

G: When we do an extra chore or do something really nicely without complaint, we get Mommy Store money.

Me: Why would a teenager want to shop at The Mommy Store?

G: It's cool to see what options there are. It's always fun to see if there's new stuff and neat when you see things that you didn't know was there. I like it because it's an easy way to earn money and you don't have to wait for an allowance and wait to go to The Dollar Tree or something.

Me: How often do we have The Mommy Store?

G: It's always on a Friday but not every week. It's about every 2-3 weeks.

Me: Do you like going to The Mommy Store?

G: Yeah, why wouldn't I?? There are treats, stickers, pencils, fun stuff!

whistles I bought for the store

The rules: Go above and beyond helping out and you get Mommy Money. The store is sometimes every Friday, but more often it's every other Friday. I keep track on my phone how much Mommy Money they have. They can ask me at any time how much their balance it.

They use that money to shop when I open the store. Sometimes they choose not to use it all. A couple kids like to keep a positive balance in their account-- even if it's 5 cents.

They can never lose what's in their mommy store money account. We do not discipline bad behavior that way. However, sometimes we wait to have the Mommy Store until morale improves.

They may spend their own money (in addition to what they've earned specifically for the store) but they must get back in line to spend it. This allows everyone a chance to shop before one person buys out everything.