We found the Top Mommy Bloggers in the field and gave them a KidCash kit to see what they thought about our product. We figured they were the experts in the field and would write something a little more descriptive than a testimonial from a place of experience. We were overwhelmed by the positive responses. Thank you!
Have you ever heard of KidCash? Sounds intriguing, right? I know so many parents who have tried behavior modification charts, chore charts and allowances with no real success in helping to manage their child's behavior. KidCash is actually more than a behavior modification system. It's more like a reward system where kids can also learn about money, banking, self-discipline and patience.
I was lucky enough to win a KidCash set from a fellow blogger over at The Stay at Home Life. The Jersey Momma's Boy is such a good kid, I honestly don't have too many complaints about his overall behavior. But our issues center around the following things:
- I would love to see him help more around the house
- I would love him to do more things independently
- I would love to see him rely less on his tech devices for entertainment (his tablet and XBox in particular).
When I read about what KidCash offered, I was curious. It sounded unique, and it sounded like something my kiddo might like.
What is KidCash?
Well, for the best description of it, here's a quote right from the KidsCash website: "KidCash lets you give them a safe, real-world structure to practice the kind of decision making they will need as adults. Trade power struggles for trust as you teach your young ones about money..." In a nutshell, KidCash is like a little pretend banking system that your child takes part in. You can use it with kids as young as 2, and the KidCash guide offers ways to help you modify the program for little ones.
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What Does KidCash Give You?
When you receive your KidCash kit, you'll open it and find stacks of colorful pretend money (like board game money), little 'bank books,' a bonus bounty pad and a violations pad. Of course there's also a little guide book to help you get started. The 'cash' includes KidCash savings cash (equaling monetary value), candy cash (equaling treat or candy value), gift cash (for use in buying someone else a gift), device cash (equaling device or tech time), and activity cash (equaling trip or special event time). The bonus bounties can be used to write rewards or extra KidCash amounts, and the violations are for those times when you need to take cash away. The bank book helps you keep track of everything. The KidCash kit also comes with charts you can use to fill in your daily allowances, bonus bounties and violations. There are great tools included to keep track of everything).
The KidCash website offers helpful hints, articles, information, and even the ability to print out more cash, bounties and violations if you need them. There's a wealth of knowledge on their site, so if you need help or ideas once you've started, the site is a great resource.
How Do You Use KidCash?
Well, how you use it is up to you, but I can tell you how it worked for us. When my KidCash package arrived, I opened it up and started looking at all of the little packages of money and the guidebook and the pads of bounties and I immediately thought, 'I don't know about this...'I just thought it looked like a lot of work! But The Jersey Momma's Boy was all up in my business when he saw the package, and pretty much spewed out a stream of questions:'What's that? Can I see? Is that money? How do you use it? Is it a game?' I literally stopped in my tracks and looked at him. For real? He was totally into it and we hadn't even started! I kind of quickly described to him what it was and he said, 'Great! I'll make a bank!' and he ran off to construct a home for the KidCash bills! I was totally shocked!!
He originally wanted rubber bands to hold the money together, and then he wanted toothpicks to hold the rubber bands, but we don't really use those at all, so now they just look like some kind of weird security system. Anyway, we waited till Mr. Jersey Momma came home so we could discuss how we'd use the KidCash bank. This is our general daily plan:
- The Jersey Momma's Boy receives the following each day: 1 savings cash, 1 gift cash, 1 candy cash, and 4 device cash (each totals 30 minutes of game time- tablet or console game).
- Rules apply to the cash, such as he cannot use more than 4 device cash a day, and no more than one candy cash a day (and we specifically outlined what kinds of candies/treats he could pick from).
- His savings dollars have started to accumulate so we gave him two options: he could use them to work towards a new Lego Dimensions set ($15), or he could trade in 5 of them for a device dollar.
- He uses his gift cash for holidays and birthdays (he used them to buy me a Valentine gift with daddy!). Gift cash cannot be taken away for a violation.
- We are not using the event cash yet because it's winter here in New Jersey and there's seriously no place to go that's not a germ fest. In the summer we'll incorporate the event dollars and plan trips to the beach, amusement parks, etc.
Is KidCash Easy to Use?
Each morning I give The Jersey Momma's Boy his daily KidCash and he puts it into his bank book. We started out keeping track of how much he was using and spending in the bank book, but it got to be a little confusing for him (he's only 7), so we are holding off on the recording part right now. Down the line we can have him keep track himself, or maybe when he is working towards a specific toy goal using the savings cash. (*just to note here, the KidCash kit comes with charts you can use to fill in your daily allowances, bonus bounties and violations. There are great tools included to keep track of everything).
You can also take it up a notch and have the cash earn interest! That's the whole point of the bank books. We haven't gotten to that point yet, but maybe down the line!
How Has KidCash Helped with Device Time?
The Jersey Momma's Boy used to sit and play with his Xbox or tablet without thinking much about how long he was playing. Now he hands me a KidCash device dollar when he wants to play and he literally says, 'ok, start the timer!' Something about this system really appeals to him. I think he feels more in control of his gaming time, and he likes using the money. I think it makes him feel grown up. When the timer goes off after 30 minutes, he has to decide if he is going to keep playing with another dollar, or shut the game off. He is not allowed to use more than 2 device dollars at a time. He uses reasoning skills to figure out a plan for himself, so to speak.
The bonus bounties are extremely helpful. When he runs out of device dollars, he'll often say, 'What can I do to earn a bonus bounty?' He can check the bonus bounty chart that we wrote up, or I can make a specialized one for him. I'll write up a bounty and just hand it to him. Sometimes he doesn't want to do it (the last bounty was to finish his entire homework packet, since he had been absent from school and needed to catch up). But if he wants to earn that device time...
We haven't had to use the violations pad yet, but I'm sure the moment will come! However, it's been a great threat. We've already said a few times, 'If you keep doing that, you're going to get a violation. Do you want to lose cash?' And it has totally worked!
Oh! Another neat trick is that I even use the device cash as a gift sometimes. For Valentine's Day, I tucked a real dollar bill and a device cash bill inside his valentine card. He was so excited! The KidCash website also offers other ways to use KidCash and KidCash bonus bounties.
Does KidCash Work?
Every family is different, but I can honestly tell you this is working for us. I told you I won my KidCash set, right? KidCash is made in the U.S.A. (out of Brooklyn, no less!) and mom-created. I absolutely love that. Plus, Lisa is just an amazingly nice person.
Read the original article at: http://www.thejerseymomma.com/2016/02/kid-cash-review-and-giveaway.html
Disclosure: there really isn't one! I won my KidCash kit and I totally loved it.
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If you're like me, you're tired of bargaining, cajoling and begging your child to listen and do what they're told. It feels like a daily power struggle to get even the simplest task completed. Now, I've been introduced to KidCash, which takes reward and sticker charts to the next level. We're on our way to revolutionizing how behavior is handled in our house.
For special-needs children like M2, KidCash is a great way to work with them on behavior in a creative way that will keep their interest. The usual sticker charts don't keep M2's attention. She loves collecting and carrying around papers (many autistic kids do) so the cash earned with the KidCash method suits her well. As with other kids her age, she likes to copy what mom does, which includes keeping the cash in her purse and spending it on things. That makes KidCash perfect for keeping her engaged, learning and encouraged to have good behavior.
The decision making that comes into play is also extra important for spsecial-needs kids. It gives M2 the chance to learn more real-world scenarios that can be applied for future lessons as well. Turning her behavior into choices and deciding how to spend her money gives M2 a better feeling of control. They're working with you to make choices and set up their goals, rather than feeling as though everything is dictated to them and they have no power. When you already feel out of control at times because of autism, having something like KidCash boosts confidence.
Everything about KidCash is adaptable. There's no real, "You absolutely must do it this way," which is awesome. Since M2 is younger, we keep KidCash simple for her. We're using the slow buildup approach ourselves. We work on just a couple behaviors at a time -- such as listening to what she's told, sitting to eat her dinner and daily chore of putting her dirty clothes away. Too many things to do at once would overwhelm her. Every day, we go over what she needs to do to earn her cash for the day by telling a story. Rather than giving her a violation after one warning, she gets two. We give her the cash she's earned immediately, rather than having her wait longer since for her. So if she does something good, like listens the first time, she'll earn her cash. This works better for her since she won't care anymore about it as much or connect it with the behavior anymore if we wait too long. This allowance method (there are many) is the Immediate Reward. There's also the Daily Pay Out, the Auction and others. The money is kept with each kind in it's own little baggie, kept pinned to the bulletin board in the kitchen where she can easily see it, along with her allowance schedule, bounty and violation pages. It helps to remind her that it's all there.
As soon as M2 saw the box, she wanted to open it up. Once she actually saw what was inside, she was all over it wanting to do it. She gets excited to spend the colorful money to get things that she wants. It's really helping her to learn that behavior has consequences, whether they're good or bad. I'm working with her so she stops to think about her behavior, which can give time for her brain to reset, focusing on the KidCash rather than whatever it is that's upsetting her. It's not always perfect, but like anything, it takes time, patience and effort. KidCash sets the foundation for us to build off. Really, it's almost like behavior therapy for M2. Her therapists have suggested various things in the past that KidCash helps us to incorporate and apply more easily in daily life. So far, we're really liking the progress we're making and are hoping it continues.
http://www.thesahlife.com/2016/01/how-to-get-kids-motivated-and-focused.html
Disclosure: The author of this blog received a free product in exchange for a fair and unbiased review. All opinions are 100% that of the author's.
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We’re currently going through a bit of a power struggle with our threenager. We’ve tried numerous discipline methods – taking away toys that are important to her, putting her in time out, capping the time outs at 3 before heading directly to bed. These methods work, but we’re starting to get burnt out with these repetitive options (and I’m sure she is too). Sometimes we just yell. The tantrums, talking back, and timeouts honestly leave my husband and I completely exhausted.Another thing we’ve tried is a reward system, but it’s always fallen flat since there is a lack of consistency and/or ground rules and guidelines. For instance, say she shares with her brother. Sometimes we verbally recognize her action and commend her, other times we give her a stamp as acknowledgement and reward. But I know consistency is key with parenting, so there is always room for improvement.That’s where KidCash comes in. Created by a working mom who had similar power struggles with her little ones, KidCash was the solution she dreamt of, and needed. Working nearly around the clock, getting just 3.5 hours of sleep a night, she took KidCash from concept to reality.“I didn’t know how I could motivate my kids to behave simply by telling him that I’m the boss, by making my voice louder or by punishing them randomly, but I didn’t have any other way,” said Lisa Chin Mollica, the founder of KidCash. So she thought about what would motivate children and entice them to put forth extra effort to get bonuses and avoid violations. What better way that through the use of cash?KidCash is a system of earning income that ultimately gives kids the control they are seeking in their lives (while the parent still maintains full control under the radar, like adding spinach to a fruit smoothie). I absolutely love that it is fully customizable based on the motivators of your children. Some kids may be motivated more by the iPad than sweets, and vice versa. This system allows parents to use the “cash” of their choice as motivators.
Since Bear is only 3, I referred to the “How to start with Younger Kids” section of the KidCash Guide first. It was recommended to begin with just 2 types of “cash” – Candy Cash and Device Cash. Since my daughter is motivated more by activities than tech and screen time, we opted to swap the Device Cash suggestion with Activity Cash.
We started with Candy Cash since she is highly motivated by treats and sweets (just like her mommy). Each morning, she receives an allowance of 2 Candy Cash dollars. She can use them after lunch or dinner each day, or save them. $1 = a small treat at home (or a lemonade at a restaurant) or $5 = a special treat like a trip to Menchie’s (her favorite).Throughout the day, she can earn more Candy Cash by exhibiting role model behavior and going above and beyond to be good. She can also lose Candy Cash by sassing, talking back, not sharing, etc. We keep it on display in a jar on the kitchen island for continued motivation so she see the “bank.”
We’ve instantly seen an improvement in attitude. She’s also so excited about her cash, she even brought it to the restaurant and when she ordered lemonade, she “paid” the waitress. I’m hopeful the momentum continues. This could really make ALL of our lives so much happier!
http://www.spitupisthenewblack.com/2016/01/31/stuck-tantrum-rut-try-kidcash/
Disclosure: I received a KidCash kit at no cost to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own.
Return to the topOver the past few weeks, we have been trying a new parenting system in our home. It has been going really great with the kiddos.
KidCash is a great system that works like an allowance, except that they have turned real money into a more safe, colorful and engaging mechanism for children.
In our home, we let the children make their own decisions, whether positive or negative.KidCash allows parents to get into the habit of allowing their children to make their own decisions. This helps reduce power struggles and yelling from both ends. KidCash engages children in the kinds of productive and responsible behaviors today that allow them to effectively manage their lives tomorrow.
KidCash is a great system that teaches responsibility, basic money skills, and budgeting. Beyond stickers on a chart, like a normal reward sytem, KidCash asks children to balance several currencies, bonuses, tickets and bank books. Surprisingly, this complexity leads to an easier learning experience for children because it more directly relates to the life they watch their parents lead. A child can more simply put into context how they fit into the family and society.
The KidCash system has been amazing in our home. The children no longer "nag" for things. If they do not have the currency to purchase it, they simply do not get it. We have been using it for the past two weeks, and the change was basically overnight. The children like to be "in charge" of their own decisions and their rewards. Granted, at times they still choose to make the bad decision, but they are kids.
http://nonperfectparenting.com/5/post/2014/10/kidcash-give-your-kids-the-world.html
Disclosure: The author of this blog received a free product in exchange for a fair and unbiased review. All opinions are 100% that of the author's.
Return to the topWhen the genius mother behind KidCash reached out to me to conduct a review, I took one look at the product and said, I'm in! Any chance you have HusbandCash too?
You all, I just absolutely LOVE this product, and all it can do for a family as a whole.
The main concept behind KidCash is not only to teach a child about the value of money, but to also teach an understanding of how hard work, kindness and good behavior attribute to a better life...
First of all, I LOVE Lisa. She is clearly an amazing mother, runs her household like a queen, and no doubt has two beautiful children on their way to an amazing future. I WANT THAT TOO!!!! I think this is absolutely brilliant! You can sit down as a family and talk about the things your child(ren) want, need and look forward to doing.
I love both concepts. Violation tickets are a great way to curb difficult talks until everyone is ready to calmly discuss the issue, and Bonus Bounty allows you to reward your child for going above and beyond!The entire kit works together to help your child with all aspects of his/her life, and gain a better understanding of how the real world works! Brilliant.
I love EVERYTHING about KidCash. I can't wait to start using this with Ollie and FTD. That's right, the husband needs this too. So get this, while, Lisa-the creator of KidCash, would certainly LOVE to sell a million and one copies of KidCash, more than anything she wants parents to realize just how amazing the tool is, so she is offering FREE downloads of the kit. Yes, totally free! How amazing is that? The download is in Black and white to save ink, but it still does the trick. She told me that the system did so much to help her household, that as a mother, she wants to help as many families as possible realize the greatness of the system too.
Disclosure: The author was provided with a KidCash kit for the purpose of review. All opinions are my own. As if!
Return to the topWhen I was a kid, my brother had a friend whose mother used to pay him for completing chores around the house. She had a whole system in place for compensating him to each task and she would pay him what he earned at the end of each week. I can recall thinking how lucky he was that he was getting paid to do the things that I was doing in my house for free.
What I didn’t realize was that he was simultaneously learning how to be responsible with his finances. You see, he actually had to work in order to earn his weekly allowance so the money meant much more to him because it came at a price. As a result, he learned how to save and manage his money early on.
As an educator and a mom, I can’t begin to describe to you how important it is to teach children how to be financially responsible early on and to encourage them to make their own decisions. KidCash® makes parenting easier because it helps to reduce power struggles and to open the lines of communication between parents and kids. The basic premise behind it is that has different currencies that help parents set limits on sweets, technology, activities, spending and even rewarding positive behaviors. There are bonuses and violations to highlight those extra good or bad moments. Additionally, kids can maintain bank books that teach them the importance of keeping their money safe and saving it.
I have had the opportunity first-hand to see the benefits of positive reinforcement like this not only with my own sons but within my own classroom. It’s a great way of establishing boundaries and routines with children and reinforcing positive behaviors and open communication.
KidCash® arms children with the tools to become productive members of society in the future. Having a system of rewards and balances like this one can be extremely beneficial to children with special needs or focus issues because it provides them with a concrete reward for positive behaviors as well as something tangible that they can reflect upon when they are not on task. Prepare your children to effectively manage their lives tomorrow with KidCash®. You can share tickets with your children’s teachers and other caretakers in order to establish continuity in their daily lives. I’m sure you will see that it helps kids focus, learn how to save money, and even complete homework.
http://toughcookiemommy.com/2014/09/parenting-just-got-little-easier-kidcash.html
Disclosure: This is part of a sponsored campaign with KidCash®. However, all opinions expressed are my own.
Return to the topWe have found this great program called Kid Cash! I was really looking for a way to regulate and things like electronics time, candy, and activties in our household. It seemed like the kids were always on a device of some kind or asking for junk food. I wanted to do this in a fair way that didn't seem like I was punishing them. That's when I found Kid Cash! Kid Cash is a great program that helps kids learn about the value of earning these special treats as well as teaches them about the importance of saving and giving.
The kid cash system comes with bank books that you can use to keep track of your kids earnings and if needed some deductions. The system is pretty easy to use. You have play money that has what they are for writen on the front. There is activity cash, savings cash, gift cash, candy cash, and device cash. Basically you set up a weekly allowence of each type of cash, I set mine up as an allowance that is given if they complete some simple things that they are responsible for. For example, my 5 year old is responsible for picking up her toys when she is done playing each day, putting her backpack on the bag hook each day instead of tossing it in the floor, and she scoops the food out for the puppies each day while her older sister gets the water. So we keep track of her responsibilities on the chart provided, if she completes her tasks each day at the end of the week we give her the decided upon allowance. This Kid Cash system has really helped her become more responsible with her daily chores. She is excited to do them so she can get her kid cash at the end of the week. We mark down her kid cash in the provided bank book for her and she can easily keep track of her kid cash. If she wants to use her kid cash to play on the iPad for an hour she simple gives me or my husband one of her device dollars in exchange for one hour of device time.
I also love that it comes with savings cash that has to be saved for larger items. For example my daughter is using her savings cash for a new bike. So once she get's $100 in savings cash we plan to take her shopping to get a new bike. It's a great way to introduce the importance of saving money. I also really love the gift cash. This is Kid Cash they can not use on themselves. It's a great lesson on the importance of giving to others! I really love the lesson it teaches them. I have noticed a big difference in our home now that we have introduced gift cash. We like to use this as a way to teach about service. About once a month we combine their gift Kid Cash and let them come up with a way to help others. So far we have done Random Acts of Kindness bags and given them to a couple of neighbors we thought could use them and this month we plan to purchase some stuffed animals to donate to the hospital for children then have to come to the ER.
Another thing I love about the Kid Cash system is the bonus chores. It comes with a pad of bonus tasks that can be filled out. You simple write down what task you would like completed mark what kind of cash they can earn for completing it and how much. These have been great in our house. I simply fill out a few of those on the weekends and post them on the fridge (in our house it's first come first serve) so they like to rush down to see what's available on Saturday morning. It's a great way to get some extra tasks done on the weekends.
There is also a violation report pad that comes with the kit. If they violate one of the rules, or maybe do not complete their tasks then you can fill out a violation report. That means they lose some Kid Cash. We have not used these a lot luckily but they do serve a great purpose to teach them that they need to maintain their responsibilities to keep their Kid Cash!!
We love our Kid Cash system in our house! It has been a life saver. Instead of making limiting junk food and device time a negative experience it has made it fun and easy! I highly recommend this program to anyone with children who may be looking for a program to help them set limits in the house!
http://www.sweepstakesdiva.com/kidcash.html
Disclosure: Kid Cash allowed me to try this product complimentary for my honest review. However I only recommend products that I truly love and use.
Return to the topMy best friend has four kids. A few years back she started implementing a coin system in her home. At first, I was very skeptical. But after watching her family use the system for a few years I started to see why she was doing what she did. So when I came across KidCash I thought I should give it a try in my own home with my boys.
Let me start off by saying, with me being a stay at home mom, my oldest especially but both boys seem to think that automatically I am not just Mom. I am maid, cook, and sometimes they even try to get me to be their servant. The only time I have ever had my oldest clean his room completely by himself is if I bribe him with money. The problem is, well I don't have a ton of money on me. And I don't like paying him real money, because he isn't always great about putting it in his piggy bank.
So finding KidCash, I was curious on how I could best utilize this tool with both of my kids. Every single time we go to the store, both my kids beg to get a toy. Even something as small as a hot wheels. Well I realized how quickly that adds up. So rather than allowing them to get a hot wheels, we started discussing how they can earn money on their own that they can turn in for a new toy, or fun activity.
I love that there is a bonus bounty. Every Monday, my oldest comes home with homework for the week. And he always dreads going to sit down and do the homework. I have been using this bonus bounty to make sure he is not rushing through his math and writing. And it seems to really be helping. I also love that there are violation tickets you can use.
Having two boys, sometimes they can get a little too rough. And being with them most of the time by myself, it can be hard to get them back under control once they have reached that threshold of out of control. With these violation tickets, they have quickly realized that they need to stay in control of themselves, and their body parts.
KidCash is a great way to teach your kids about responsibilities and a better way to have a reward system without going crazy on hot wheels every time you are the store.
Disclosure: I received one or more products for the exchange for my honest opinion. I only recommend product that I would use personally or believe would be a good fit with my readers. All opinions are 100% my own and may differ from yours. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides concerning the use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
Return to the top(WTNH) – Getting children to listen to their parents is a struggle as old as time. Lisa Chin, founder of KidCash LLC, is trying a new method with actual kid cash.KidCash LLC is a new way for parents and children to see eye to eye. “The two things that KidCash does is, it helps to get their attention, and it helps to make the lessons to stick,” says Lisa.To get the child’s attention, KidCash allows parents to have a “daily review” to form a habit of face to face communication between the parent and the child. The KidCash rewards the child for good behavior. There are different types of cash, such as “sugar money.”The program helps teach children to listen actively, earn their rewards, basic financial responsibility, and more.
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ADDitude is the only magazine focused on improving the lives of people with AD/HD. Each issue contains timely information about treatment options, practical advice, and proven tips for living well with ADD at home, school and work. Subscription includes the acclaimed annual Success at School issue.
Founded in 1998 by Ellen Kingsley, an award-winning journalist with a unique ability to convey credible information with empathy and inspiration, ADDitude magazine has provided clear, accurate, user-friendly information and advice from the leading experts and practitioners in mental health and learning for almost 10 years.
http://www.additudemag.com/slideshow/208/slide-9.html
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Check out our inspirational videos section if you need help getting your child to care about germs, their teeth, eating right, watching their time on digital devices and more! You can also read the science behind why you should incentivize your kids.