iRewardChart reinforces children’s good behavior- [iPhone App Review]
Posted on 13. Jan, 2010 by zevmo in Applications, iPhone
As every parent knows, finding ways to motivate kids to brush their teeth, go to bed on time, or make their beds in the morning can be a seemingly impossible task. But if you have an iPhone, your job just got a little easier. There is an iPhone application called, iRewardChart, from Got Clues Inc., and it is a really easy way to positively reinforce good behavior and complete their chores.
iRewardChart Menu
My 4 and 8 year old boys can be a handful before bedtime. Finding ways to motivate them to turn off the TV, put down the DSi, shower, brush their teeth, get into pajamas, and lay down for reading time, often times proves difficult to do with regularity.
Enter iRewardChart.
In the Setup tab, you can modify the "Rewards" your children earn with their stars
I downloaded the app, tapped on it to launch, and it opened to an “add a child” page. Setup is simple. Just enter the name, add a photo for each child, and modify the list of “Rewards” that your child will earn. It comes preset with a handful examples, like “ice cream”, or “extra bedtime story”, to get you started. I found it helpful to sit with each child, and come up with a list of what they viewed as rewards. This allows them to get excited about the stars they earn, and it reinforces the importance of good behavior.
Hit ‘Done’ and you are off and running.
One thing to keep in mind, each child has their own list of suggested “Rewards”, which can be edited, deleted, or added to. The reason this is done becomes more clear as you use the app. My 8 year old (Ari) has rewards that my 4 year old (Eitan) cannot get, therefore his list and reward amounts (even for the same reward) can be different. For example, Ari will do more tasks overall (more responsibilities), so he will earn more stars. If “Ice Cream” is only 10 points, he will be eating nothing but Ice Cream every day. So, as a result, his points and rewards are adjusted just for him.
Here you can turn on/off tasks, and even add new ones.
Similarly, if you scroll to the bottom of the chart, you will see an “Edit Tasks” selection. Here you can turn on/off which Behaviors, Chores, Responsibilities, or other custom tasks you decide to add for your child. Again, this list is customized per child, so there is a little bit of setup involved for multiple kids, even if you are creating the same custom task.
Now comes the fun part.
Click the particular child’s chart. You will see a list of tasks on a daily calendar. There are 5 ways to give stars for each task, for that day: half/full gold star (tapping the star on that day), blank (empty by default), and half/full red star (press and hold the star for that day). A running total for that week will show up on the upper right. My advice, either mark up the chart in front of your child (with the volume on) or allow them to do it themselves, with you watching, of course. When your child has accrued enough stars to get a “Reward”, they can go to the “Balance” button within their chart, and select which reward they would like to claim. It will deduct the points from the total… and then it is up to you to run out and get that reward ASAP.
A positive reinforcement chart (weekly list)
Free or Premium?
There are two different versions: free and premium. The free (“lite”) version supports only 3 tasks per week, and monitors only one child. The premium version gives you unlimited access for $4.99. There will be an update coming out that offers some enhanced features, like parental lock in the premium version, and a few more options in the free (“lite”) version.
Conclusion:
I really like this app. In fact, I hate to say it, but my kids react to the mere threat of giving red stars. I find that quite helpful, to say the least. Overall, the app is well done, well thought out, and the features are solid. It is totally worth the $4.99.
If I could have one feature wish, it would be to have an ability to set up/register with a web site (username) to allow parents (who both have iPhones) to each have access to the same list, while giving a passive login to the website, so the kids could go online and check their balance. Adding a website would expand the capabilities, you could integrate Amazon wish lists, and make it a lot more complex. It really isn’t needed. For me, as a simple, clean, and easy standalone app, this is perfect!
You can download the iRewardChart app by clicking the icon below.
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ZM
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