A little about me, the creator of KidCash and why I made this.
Dear Parents,
I know firsthand the challenges of parenting, especially when you want to instill important life lessons in your children. There came a point when I felt overwhelmed and sought a simpler way to teach my kids valuable skills. I wanted to avoid constant battles and make the rules understandable to them, all while conveying that these rules were born out of love and a desire for their well-being.
After spending close to two decades working as a user experience and product designer, I've had the opportunity to learn about motivating people to achieve their goals. I've used incentives and behavioral psychology in my work, and it got me thinking: why not try applying these principles to parenting? With previous experience as a Principal Product Designer at Arianna Huffington's Thrive Global, a company dedicated to wellness and behavior change, I decided to explore creating a system that could simplify parenting and help children develop important life skills.
Teaching children to adopt positive habits is a gradual process. My formula is straightforward: use incentives to minimize resistance, encourage repeated actions, and provide intrinsic reasons for lasting change.
In my system, I've divided currency into different categories, making it easier for children to focus on important topics like digital devices, nutrition, exercise, saving, and giving. I introduced the concept of "violations" to teach the power of loss aversion, a motivator twice as effective as gains in adults. "Bonuses" add an element of surprise and delight to help children tackle challenging tasks, while "gift dollars" highlight the importance of generosity and empathy. I've also included "bank books" to teach basic financial concepts, filling a gap in our educational system. To tie it all together, I implemented a daily review process that makes using the system easy and encourages valuable face-to-face communication between parents and children.
I'm not driven by financial gain, which is why you'll find KidCash offered for free on my website. My true reward is knowing that my product works. One of the most heartwarming moments was when a parent reached out to tell me that her son wanted to convey his gratitude: "Thank you for making this. I think this will really help me out." It made me realize the impact this system can have, and I've received many more notes of appreciation since then.
My goal for this product goes beyond mere success. I want children to have a great experience, families to maintain open lines of communication, and kids to learn important lessons early in life. I aim to show that you can build a successful company while keeping it Made In America, using the sales of KidCash to support global charities and inspire other businesses to do social good.
In essence, I want this product to make a positive difference in any way possible, because that is what makes life and my knowledge meaningful.
KidCash is as flexible as you are. We work hard to create as much value for you as we can dream up. Here are some of the different ways you can implement the system to get your creative juices flowing including our favorites, "The Reverse Psychology", "The Auction" and more.
This is when you make them agree to get started. The easiest way is to use opportunities where they think something isn't fair to start a conversation of allowing them to make decisions. It could be in the toy store, where they are asking for a toy. When the answer is no, and they are upset, now is the perfect time to ask if they'd like to start earning income.
This is when you introduce the system one piece at a time, until you've built up your web of positive reinforcement, opportunities, rules and rewards.
This is when you explain the entire system to your children and just let them wing it until they get it.
This is when you stock your house with an irresistible treat to get them started with the habit of exchanging a dollar for something of value. It could be a bag of Hershey's kisses, and you've only started with the one candy dollar a night. You just ask, "who wants a Hershey's kiss? Oh you do? Do you have a candy dollar?"
This is when you treat the dollars like a ticket at an amusement park. One will get them the ability to do something, rather than thinking of the dollar amount the privilege would buy.
This is when you create a value system based on real world economics and your personal budget.
