A Marbelous Experiment

The marbelous experiment all started a few weeks ago when I was fed up with giving Cal candy for each successful bathroom attempt. Cal was high on dum dum lollipops; and, yet I was the one that felt like a dum dum. Cal's behavior was entirely motivated by whether or not he felt the reward was worth it at a particular moment. Even when I stepped up his challenge to go 2 -3 three times before getting a treat, it wasn't always worth it to him to make it to the bathroom. His lack of consistent motivation was driving me crazy.

About this same time I had been thinking about how to teach our kids about the value of work and the personal satisfaction that comes from really earning a reward. So, I decided to ditch the sugar for a marble jar, with the hope of consistently motivating good habits and instilling a basic connection in Cal's mind between work and reward.

Cal and I went to the craft store and got supplies to create his very own marble jar. We agreed that Cal would be able to earn marbles for doing a variety of things -- from going potty and dressing himself to helping mom and reading to Crewe. And when his jar was full, he would be able to get the reward of his choice, a trip to the McCormick Stillman Railroad Park in Scottsdale. We made this little poster to highlight our marble deal:
It took a few days for the concept to kick-in, but when it did it was powerful. I've never seen someone so excited to earn a marble. He showed off his little poster to everyone who came over. He would regularly proclaim to complete strangers in places like the grocery store or the library "hey, I just got a marble in my jar." And at home he seemed to work "when I get lots of marbles in my jar, I get to go to the train park" into any conversation.

The marbelous expriement has been, well, marvelous! Cal is officially potty-trained now and on Monday, he earned enough marbles to go the train park. I've also noticed that he is nicer to Crewe and generally more happy. I wonder if it's that personal satisfaction thing.

We celebrated Cal's accomplishment by going to the train park for Family Night this week. Cal was intent on watching the wheels go along the track.


We just made a new poster to go along with round two of the marble jar. I hope it's just as marbelous.