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 Toddler-taming veterans knows that there are times - and types of children - that need an effective reward system to keep either parent or child from an early grave. Some call it behaviour modification. We all thrive on love, hugs and praise, but as kids grow they can also develop mercenary tendencies, as well as communication failure. Tantrums are not confined to toddlers and a paper reward chart has limited appeal.
So we invented SmileMiles. We got the idea when - in need of some behaviour modification ourselves - we introduced it as a reward system in our own family. A joke at first, it caught on fast and soon turned into a serious – and fun - way of managing behaviour patterns and outcomes. Whenever you want to assist an outcome you offer SmileMiles. When you want to reward a special effort, you give SmileMiles.
“You little star! You cooked dinner! That deserves a thousand SmileMiles”
“You kicked the cat again! That’s ten thousand SmileMiles you just lost”
“You did brilliantly in that test! That’s got to be worth a hundred thousand!”
Paper reward charts are useful behaviour modification tools too, especially for the younger child or toddler. But a paper behaviour chart gets mislaid or tampered with and soon falls into misuse. As kids grow, the praise option can wear out, and there are occasions when it helps to have something to trade to back up the praise, but you forgot to shop for a reward, or you don’t have any cash to hand. And then you have to keep account. So you forget to give, forget to take, and the reward chart system fails again.
This is where SmileMiles revolutionises the reward chart. Useful for those extra points situations, it gives parents a separate account in the name of each child, in the style of an online bank. You can give or take SmileMiles dependent on how “good” or deserving the child has been that day, week, exam, or grandma visit. Of course, negative behaviour gets a reversal in the account. Children are not allowed to edit the account so there’s no risk of hacking. SmileMiles is a great pocket money reckoner as well as behaviour reminder, and you can print out the account or even blank reward charts too.
But SmileMiles offers much more. Aside from helping with behaviour, it helps parents by providing a quiet place on the web. With the SmileMiles game, families can have a private communication channel free from the nuisance of SPAM, so they can stay in touch privately in this hard-working, often separated world. They can record their achievements and thoughts. They can access recommended websites that educate and entertain. On top of this, they can post their achievements and pictures on their own SmileSpace web page! The child can manage their own content, including a diary, with the option to mark some - or all - of it as private. The web page can be published, and may be seen either to selected family members, the SmileMiles Community, or to the entire web – but always with parental discretion.
 SmileMiles differentiates between under eights and over eights. Younger children often do not need the money aspect. They need encouragement to do the right thing. They respond to smiling faces, and positive input works better than any financial gain. There’s an old saying we’re fond of here: Praise the children and watch them prosper! SmileMiles offers them a great way to practice keyboard and communication skills.
Once upon a time, child behaviour modification involved
physical methods which are now redundant. Instead we encourage good behaviour
through praise and reward. As they get older, children want to take more control
and we need to let them. They need the freedom to budget - or go bankrupt.
Meanwhile as parents we try to teach them in a positive way. We know it is important for them to learn how good it feels when they make any contribution to their community and how they will get back what they give. Depending on the individual, the challenge may be simply to record and maintain a record of outstanding achievements, or it may be to become a SmileMiles “millionaire”. Whatever the goal, SmileMiles can make it serious fun getting there.
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