To help busy parents in their task of bringing up positive, healthy, contributing kids, it could be useful to use a very simple, common credit scheme that could act as a risk/reward system for both parents and kids.
The idea would be to come up with as simple as possible, a credit scheme that would track the yearly records of both the kids and parents in a number of life's endeavors as follows:
for kids,
- frequency of good eating habits (i.e. reduction in 'fast food' intake, frequency of good foods eaten, i.e. vegetables)- management of time spent watching TV, playing video games and using the computer to surf the net- amount of time spent on healthy outdoor/physical activities- occasions of good samaritanism, volunteering, etc.- homework habits- reduction or exclusion of drug usage- time spent reading- time spent on spiritual acitivities- communication, treatment and interaction with brothers, sisters and other family members
for parents,
- time spent interacting with kids- all the above that are also applicable- treatment and communication with spouse
The credit system would allow for a simple points-based tracking system for each family member, positive and negative points that would translate into 'Christmas credits' for the kids at yearend.
Parenting is tough enough and any positive reinforcement tool that could help would be useful. Building happy, healthy citizens is a job we all should share regardless of whether we have kids or not. We all stand to benefit as a result.
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I like it. "Christmas credits" would correspond to $$$ spent on Christmas gifts, for the child and for the others in his family -- the balance between selfish and unselfish expenditures determined by the child, with parents doing screening for gift appropriateness.
This is great because the usual rewards -- treats like candy or ice cream -- are unhealthy and are so over-used that they no longer motivate kids.
The main downside I see is the too-long interval between behavior and reward. It would be an unusual six-year-old, who understood that being good in January is going to lead to a better December 25, a year later. Many adults don't wouldn't get it. ;) It might be better to make "good kid credits" something that can be converted to movie tickets, comic books, or whatever else it is that thrills a child -- as soon as they are accumulated. "Dad, how many GKCs do I need to get this Logo set?" or "Mom, I have enough GKCs to go to this movie -- can you drive me?"
Also, this would be tantamount to paying $$$ for good behavior, which seems tacky and inappropriate. Kids should be good kids because that's what kids should be. Doing so to get paid seems like a losing strategy. "You want me to be nice to Grandma? How many GKCs is that worth?" Parents don't want to get in the position of bribing their kids to behave.
Perhaps this crassness could be avoided by obscuring the relationship between GKCs and behavior. The child sees a notation that she has 45 GKCs, 5 more than she had last week -- and when she asks why, the parent is always a little vague. "Because you were a good kid last week." That way, generally being good is the rewarded behavior, instead of being nice to Grandma or taking out the garbage.
I bet there are books on this subject.