Check out my article in September's Family Fun Magazine called, "A Fistful of Dad Dollars"

Thank you so much for responding so quickly.

And thank you for the ideas and details.

We started today.  Tweak it here and there.

smiles and big hug.

Anita,

Yay!  Hope your kids earn lots of Dad Dollars!  Yes, keep tweaking.  Parentweaking, right?  :)

Love the idea.  Thanks for the expanded list.  I am working on ours.

I am also usig this idea to get school started off on the right foot. Your article was a great find for me :)

I'm 11 and obviously I don't have children, but i think this is a great idea! My mom should do this... it sounds fun!

Heather and Mrs. Lewis,

I hope you have a GREAT start to a fantastic school year!

Hailey, thanks for the vote of confidence--it means a LOT coming from an 11-year-old!  Tell your mom that this will take the place of her reminding you to do chores.  It'll be a sure sell!  :)

I loved the article in Family Fun.  I pulled it out, but have now missplaced it.  I remember there being a link in the magazine for a template for the "dad dollars".  Can you post that?  I couldn't find it on www.familyfun.com.

thanks,

Karen Baker

Hi Karen. I hope 'Dad Dollars' inspire lots of responsibility at your house!  :)

Here is where to make your dollars:  www.festisite.com/money

Thank you so much for this awesome article in Family Fun.  We have started using it at our house and have seen great results with it.  I have already shared this great idea with several of my friends.  

Thanks again,

Sharon

I am so grateful you posted this!!! I read the article and was searching and searching for more ideas on the "chore" part... thank you!

Thanks so much for this idea! My kids are thrilled to be starting it!

Thanks so much for sharing this great idea!

Heather and Caprice, good luck!  Thanks for commenting!

PS.  Is this Caprice from Mt. P???

Such an awesome and more economical idea!  We have 5 kids and paying for chores has become overwhelming!  We'll give this a try and see what happens.  Thanks so much for such a terrific idea.  I'm telling all of my friends!

Sunny, thanks for commenting!  I agree... My boys are right now watching a video, which they earned by folding clothes a while ago.  Neither of them had enough Dad dollars left, and so I 'let' them earn some extras by doing my work!!  :)  For us, this system makes ordinary daily rewards more special, and keeps our wallets a little more padded!

Just did some tweaking of my own to create Bible Bucks for my 3rd and 4th grade Sunday School class. We'll see how they like them! I didn't like the idea of the old-school attendance chart but external motivation of some kind is good for that age group, so I'm hoping the bucks do the trick!

Ceri, great idea!  I hope it goes well.  But you've got to tell me... whose face did you use for the dollar?  :)

Shannon, that's why some tweaking was needed...a face just didn't seem right! :) Used a little cartoon-ish clip art Bible. Didn't get to explain them/pass any out yet because I had to combine my normal class with another today due to a teacher out of town but I'm really looking forward to introducing them next week!

That's great, Ceri.  Hope your kids earn lots of Bible Bucks!!  :)

Shannon just to understand you do the original $3 for getting ready and then add $3.00 for each daily chore or they do they only get the $3.00 if they do ALL you listed on the daily chores?  We are thinking of doing this for the morning routine, which has been a BEAR for the last 4 years, and adding as you did for other things.  We tried everything you could think of and it just seems to get worse.  With 4 kids from 8 - 11 mornings are dreaded especially living in northern Michigan where we have to leave earlier for school from now until the snow melts.  The kids have been told about it and keep asking when we are going to get the dollars made.  Hopefully if they help come up with the list they will be more apt to want to earn the dad dollars.

One question though on the dollars, I can only make 1's, 2's, 10's and up where did you find the 5's and 20's?

Looking forward to your reply!

Hi Denise.  Thanks for writing.  In the morning I have $3 laying on my kids' envelopes.  They get this if they complete ALL their daily chores by 7:30.  At 7:30 I gather up any unclaimed $.  They may earn more Dad Dollars at other times by doing something on the 'extra chores' list.

I think it's a GREAT idea to have them participate in setting up your 'market'.  Ownership of the system will be important.  The 'free market' is motivating!

Yes, I could only print $1, $2, and $10 bills.  We also printed some $50s, but nobody uses those.  They get spent too quickly!

I think the key is being careful not to allow them to do any of the things in your 'store' without Dad Dollars.  ie: No TV or computer time on the weekend unless you have enough to pay.  This is sure to keep motivation high.  :)

Good luck!

Hi there. I would love to share this with my husband. I get the basic jist of how it works just by reading this page, but he is the kind of person that would do better if he could read the whole original article.

Unfortunately, the article doesn't seem to be on familyfun.com. Do you know how I could access it? Would I have to contact Family Fun magazine and ask for a past issue?

Thanks!

Hi Della.  Did you read this post?  shannonpopkin.com/.../family-fun-p-31-dad-dollars.aspx

I'm not sure whether Family Fun will post the article, but I plan to include it on my site soon (sorry that I haven't yet) under "Write On"--my published articles.  

Thanks for your interest.  Hope that helps a little.

Thanks for the idea, I read your story in the magazine at our dentist office this Tuesday, and I forgot to write down the information.  But I just came in an search online and found your blog.  I had already been using a similar method, but instead of dollars, I used coupons that I printed.  They count as a dollar each, and kids exchange for real money, when they have saved enough to buy something.  I like your idea better of activities that do not cost that much and are more fun for the family.

Hi Rosario.  Thanks for commenting.  I agree... having the kids work for privideges rather than cash can help with the budget!  Also, I found with my younger kids that special activities or privileges were more meaningful to them than money.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this idea. I came across it while waiting at the OB/GYN's office, but finally read it at the hospital that day (dr broke my water. I have two school aged daughters and a toddler. The girls drive me nuts with all their "crap" and the toddler is picking up their bad habits :(. A lot cheaper than regular allowance. I hope to get this in the works soon.

Cati, Congratulations on a new baby!  I must say that you are very ambitious to be considering new ideas like this while waiting to deliver your fourth child! You must multi task well!  :)  

I hope that you have a wonderful Christmas with your new baby.  Are your girls old enough to change diapers?  I say stinky ones are worth five Dad Dollars each!

Shannon, I love Daddy bucks!  I printed them today and want to use them to get my homeschoolers up and ready for the day in a snappy way!  My question is: where does breakfast fit in?  Are the kids doing chores etc... after breakfast?  I like to have the dishwasher unloaded and laundry started before breakfast, but teethbrushing after?  how can i do one buck dispersement with breakfast in between completing buck duties?  what do you suggest?

Hi Christine.  I'm sorry I haven't responded sooner.  (I thought I had, but somehow it was erased).

I hope your kiddos are earning lots of Dad Dollars!  We actually have our kids brush before breakfast.  You wouldn't be the first person to tell me this is nasty!  It's just that our family reaaaalllly struggles with forgetting, and since I don't want tooth-brushing to be one of the things we forget, we do it first thing.

I agree that you shouldn't have two pay-out times per morning.  Maybe teeth brushing shouldn't be part of their 'chores' before breakfast.  How about paying one Dad Dollar for the first child to remember to brush after breakfast?  This would reward them for remembering--a skill we sorely lack!  :)