Marble Jars

[Jenna]

Hey, who all do the marble jar thing? After watching the Nanny 911 thing, I decided to go ahead and give it a shot. I remember my teachers doing it for our classes when I was in elementary school, and it seemed to help a bit then. So, I went ahead and got a small jar and marbles for my daughter. I told her that when she gets all of the marbles into the jar, then we will take her to Chuck E. Cheese's. She's been asking just about every day to go, but it is just too expensive for us. Her daddy said that it would be a suitable goal for her though, to fill her marble jar, and we've been somewhat generous thusfar.

How are your marbles working out? Have you lost any yet? lol

 

[LegacyOfLove]

Jenna, when my kids were younger this idea worked very well! But, I didn't do marbles (never even thought about that one!)...instead we used M&M's and that worked wonders. And when they had accumulated enough M&M's in their jar to redeem for a special outing, they'd also get to eat those M&M's. So the double-incentive reward system really worked out great (I guess you could say [little humor here] they really ate it up...with regards to the M&M's reward jar).

 

[Jenna]

M&Ms sound like a marvelous idea. I think that I would worry about them melting. lol I'm curious how you got around that......

 

[LegacyOfLove]

Hmmm...your question caused me to pause for a minute and think. But, I never recall having a problem with them melting. We used a clear glass container (but I'm sure plastic would work just as well)...that had an air-tight lid. Then we stored it either on top of the refrigerator (if we thought the temptation might be too much LOL) or on the countertop, but away from the stove. At normal room temperature they never melted. If you think that might be a problem, I don't see why you couldn't put yours in the fridge! They definatly shouldn't melt in there. (Just be sure to tell hubby hands-off!) LOL

 

[andiesmama]

This is a great idea....Andie l-o-v-e-s M&Ms!! I was already planning on using those to tempt her when we start potty training next month...but I think it would work for some of the other stuff we're having "challenges" with....going to bed "TIMELY" if you know what I mean...that being the first thing that comes to mind!! lol

 

[HeatherJay]

We now have marble jars, too. We got plastic canisters and the pretty little glass stones (I don't know what they're made of) that you find in the craft section. We couldn't find real marbles and the little stones were relatively cheap ($1 a bag). We got a couple of bags of different colors. They love them. 2 days in and they're both doing great. Daddy calls them jewels, though, so I guess ours have sort of morphed into Jewel Jars.

 

[Jenna]

We did the same thing, HeatherJay. I got the smallest plastic jar that I could find, because I had a hard time finding legitimate marbles, and opted for those smaller glass beads looking deals. Really though, they do look like smaller marbles, except that one side is flat. lol They had a tin of marbles, but it was for shooting marbles, and was really expensive. Because these are smaller, I got the smaller jar. I didn't want her to have to work FOREVER trying to make headway with the marble jar. lol I let Anna pick out which ones she wanted, and she picked a real soft pink color. They really are pretty. What I do is let her put marbles in or take them out, since it seems to strike home more easily. It has a more dramatic effect when she does it.

I have to say that she really surprised me the other day. Pardon the gross factor, but she stuck her finger in the dog's bum. I was pretty upset, and after we washed her hands really good, it was time to take a marble out of the jar. I asked her how many marbles should be taken out for that stunt, and she took them all out! lol My husband and I just gave each other dumbstruck looks and said 'ok'. Shoot, she's harder on herself than I am. lol I just hope that she's learned her lesson about violating the dog. Oy. I've written a chore list for her today though, simple little ways that she can earn her marbles back from yesterday. I think that if I "help" her along a little bit, we might get that jar full by her birthday, so she can go to Chuck E. Cheese.

 

[RedTulipMom]

I didnt see that Nanny 911..so could someone please tell me what exactly is the marble jar and how exactly it works. How many marbles are used? What are they put in for and what are they taken out for? It sounds interesting.
karen

 

[andiesmama]

I didn't see it either, but from the things I've read, I'm going to do it like this ...

because I'm having a hard time with my 2 1/2 year old going to bed (she procrastinates for like an hour & I usually end up losing my temper)...as well as her getting up in the morning by herself (sounds petty probably, but she lays in her bed & whines until I come get her, she won't get out of bed by herself!), I'm going to try it...

Get a little jar and some marbles or the stones the other ladies are talking about....I guess the size of the jar & the number of stones you use would depend on your perception of your child & how old he/she is....

And I just plan on having Andie put one in the jar when we go to bed "like a big girl", and when she wakes up "like a big girl", she can put another one in the jar. If I have to continually go in her room at night to remind her it's time to sleep, or if I have to "help" her wake up in the morning, then she has to take a stone out of the jar.

When it's full, I think her reward will be going to the zoo.

So whatever you're having "challenges" with your children, like chores, or manners, or tantrums, etc., I think this is a good tool!

 

[HeatherJay]

We've made a few adjustments to our marble jars. Mainly, we've stopped using it as a punishment. So, now whenever the kiddies get in trouble, they don't have to take stones out of their jars. They're still punished with time-outs or loss of priviledges...same as before. But, since we've started these jars, we haven't needed to punish them nearly as much.

So far, we've found that the positive reinforcement of earning a marble is much more effective in getting them to behave than the threat of the negative consequence of losing a marble is.

And it really IS very effective. My 3 year old, who was still having frequent accidents before, has not had a single accident all week long, including nighttime accidents. She's earned a marble everytime she's made it to the potty in time, and it's been such a motivator for her. She's even pooped in the potty, which she was terrified to do before. LOL, I'm such a proud mommy.

 

[ScarletRubies]

Love the idea... thanks for the thread. I think I'll do "jewels" as well - prettier than the marbles I've seen

I agree with the pp who suggested losing marbles was negative and maybe overly punitive. I think that the "loss" should be seen as a lost opportunity, IYKWIM.

Cheers,
Ruby

 

[ScarletRubies]

Oh, I also meant to ask, what is Nanny 911?