Exploring Teens Issue 8 / Feb-Mar 2016 | Page 17

EXPLORING COMMUNICATION

MOTIVATION THROUGH
GAMIFICATION
How to make your teens want to do their chores.
By Nathan Jacobs

© lovleah / Stockfresh

ost teens have no great love for chores
or homework. Sometimes it can feel like
a second job just reminding them to put their
laundry away or to work on that assignment.
They would much rather play video games
— and that’s where we come in.
All kids, even those who claim they are no
longer kids, love games. By appealing to this
love and applying some basic principles of
good game design, any parent can develop a
system of tasks and rewards that will motivate
their teen to do their chores – eagerly!
Video games are designed to draw
players in and keep playing, and buying
their games. There is nothing stopping
parents from using these same principles
to motivate their children.
The basic tenant of any video game is the
difficulty curve. All well-designed games
have to follow it to some degree. The system
shouldn’t be so easy that your teen can
earn rewards with little effort. They won’t see
the value and will lose interest. Likewise, it
shouldn’t be so difficult to earn anything that
your teen gets frustrated. The key is balance.
Your teen should have to put sufficient effort
in to earn obtainable rewards.
These rewards need to be of substantial
value to your teen, but not necessarily
monetary. They could be special privileges
like getting to stay up later than normal or
choosing dinner.

Keep them engaged in the system with
clear lines of communication. Give them
praise when appropriate and encourage them
to keep working towards the goals you’ve
set up. Be careful not to nag them. This is
counterproductive and they will lose interest.
As long as they have a clear understanding
of their tasks, goals and rewards then you
shouldn’t need to constantly remind them
to finish their chores. Keep the focus on the
game and on what they can earn.
Depending on the pacing that works for
your teen, you may need to offer smaller,
incremental rewards along the way to keep
interest. This will also show that bigger
rewards are attainable. Just as Super Mario
earns an extra life every time he collects
100 coins, you could do one of your teens’
chores for them once they have consistently
completed it over a set period.
Keep the system linear and simple.
You don’t want it to get to the point where
it gets so convoluted that your teens lose
interest in it.
The system should hold your teen
accountable, without being a burden to
them. This goes for you as well. Keep it
low maintenance. There are a multitude of
different methods you could use to set up
the system, and you’ll need to find the one
that works for your family, but here are some
good options to start with:
1. Tokens – upon completing tasks,
your teen earns tokens that can be
redeemed for rewards. Remember, the
tokens earned should be equivalent to
the effort put in to complete the tasks.
This method has the added benefit
of reinforcing responsibility as the
teens have to keep track of the tokens
they’ve earned.
2. Dry-erase board – use a visual
representation of progression. This will
act as a daily reminder of tasks and
accomplishments. As they progress
through the week, mark off completed
tasks. Alternatively, set it up as a
digital version on the family computer
using a spreadsheet program.
3. Worksheet – give your teens a weekly
worksheet of tasks and goals. As they
complete tasks, you sign off on them.

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At the end of the week, they turn the
worksheet into you and you calculate
their score. The bonus here is teaching
accountability.
Another option is an achievement system.
These would be awards earned over time.
These could be as simple as a title. Did
your teen remember to