This plan is simple... like my brother-in-law Ralph.  Unlike Ralph, this plan works.

    When confronted in the classroom by disrespectful, defiant, or irresponsible behavior, we know to react by implementing a behavior management program that provides consequences for this misbehavior while insuring that appropriate actions are reinforced.  Parents, for the most part, have not had the professional training afforded educators and do not have a systematic support system available to them as we often have in the schools.  When they are faced with non compliant behavior on the part of their youngster, some respond in a manner that is harsh and punitive in nature, and others feel helpless and complain that they have "'lost control" of their child.  Their behavior results in the youth's continued rebellious behavior and intensified feelings of disappointment, frustration, or embarrassment on the part of the parents.  Guilt, shame, anger, and resentment tear at the fabric of the family structure, deteriorating family interaction into a pathological state.

    What can we do to assist the parents in developing an effective, comprehensive parenting system that is responsible for caring?  How can we help parents change the course of their child rearing practices when our contacts with them usually are limited only to periodic phone calls and infrequent face-to-face meetings?  A frequently used strategy is to set up a home-based contingency management program.  In this approach, the student's classroom behavior determines the amount of reinforcement received at home.  Although these programs may improve in-school performance and behavior, and increase positive interactions at home, they are not capable of rearranging aberrant interaction patterns and promoting effective, directive, positive parenting.

The IRS Plan
    The Investment and Reward System (IRS) includes the home-school component of other published programs while going beyond them to extend help to the parents in developing appropriate behavior management skills and promoting healthy family interaction patterns.  This program has been used successfully with youths described by their parents as being "incorrigible", "disrespectful", "trouble makers", "delinquents", and "black sheep."  Their behaviors ranged from disrespect and sibling rivalry to violence, drug usage, and running away from home.  Feedback from the families indicated that parents, siblings, and the student of concern all found the program to be fair and effective.  The parents felt "influential," and the youngsters felt that they were treated fairly and recognized for their assistance and accomplishments at home and school.  Both parties enjoyed a renewed sense of family.  Additionally, teachers discovered a newly motivated student sitting in class, seeking better grades and demonstrating more desirable behavior.

    The IRS plan utilizes the principles of banking to achieve these changes.  It is organized in a manner similar to a personal financial system.  For example, one works, earns a paycheck, deposits it in a bank account, writes checks on it, and/or saves part of it for future use.  In the IRS program, the student earns points for completed daily/weekly responsibilities and enters them into his/her "bankbook."  The deposits are verified during a family meeting, which also involves other planned interactions. The points are totaled on Thursdays (payday) and deposited into his/her account.  The youngster may then choose to save the earned points or spend them on privileges that have been discussed and approved.

How to Use the IRS Plan

The following instructional steps are for use by the parents and can be given or explained to them.

1. Obtain checkbooks, complete with checks, deposit slips, and transaction record sheets.  These items are usually available free of charge from local banks.

2. Develop your own record sheet to be sure that your child's recording of earned/spent points is accurate.

3. Call a family meeting.  You should lead the meeting unless a third party facilitator (e.g., teacher, neighbor) would be more impartial and productive.

4. Explain the program in a calm, assertive voice.  Tell your child that you love him/her and cannot allow him/her to continue to act in this manner.  Explain that in order to earn privileges such as television, telephone, dances, and time with friends, s/he must complete school and household responsibilities that are worth a certain number of points.

5. List on paper the daily and weekly duties that must be completed by your child (e.g., vacuum, clean room, make bed, wash dishes, go to church, pass weekly test in math, etc.).

6. Have your child list the social and recreational activities in which s/he wants to participate (e.g., friends over for a visit, use of the car, going to the shopping mall, staying overnight at friend's house, etc.).

7. Negotiate point values for the duties and privileges.  List these on paper (see examples below).  Your child's allowance can be included in this program, making him/her responsible for paying for earned privileges (e.g., going for a meal after school with friends, going to a football game).  Assign a certain money value to each point earned (e.g., 5 cents for each point).
 

Daily (d) & Weekly (w) Responsibilities
Making bed (d)                        2 pts.
Take laundry to basement         5 pts.
Vacuum room (w)                    5 pts.
Respectful of family(d)             5 pts.
Dust room (w)                         5 pts.
Change sheets (w)                   5 pts.
Clean bathroom (w)                 5 pts.
Remove dishes from room (d)  2 pts.
Closing windows (d)                1 pt.
Turning out unused lights (d)     1 pt.
Do dishes (d)                          1 Pt.
One week perfect                                  .
school attendance                 10  pts.
etc.
 

Extra Credit Responsibilities (All positive points)
Participation in a family activity (camping, movie, picnic)  Points assigned during pre-activity discussion,
A on    report card                 100  pts.
B on    report card                   50 pts
C on    report card                   25  pts.
A on    a paper or test              20  pts
B on    a paper or test              20 pts.
C on    a paper or test             10 pts.
Polite participation
in family conference(d)             1 pt.
Do dishes (d)                           1 Pt.
Laundry (per load)                   5 pts.
Vacuum                                   5 pts.
Dust living room                       3 pts.
Being involved in an
extracurricular activity
(per week)                             5 pts.
 Read a "parent-
approved" book
& give report                       10 pts.
 

Withdrawals
(Negatives only)
D on report card                     50 pts.
F on report card                   100 pts.
On phone after 10:00 P.M.      5 pts.
Have boyfriend over for a visit10  pts.
Go to visit boyfriend (per visit)20  pts.
Date with boyfriend                30  pts.
Stay overnight at a friend's      25  pts.
Have an overnight guest          15  pts.
Go to a ball game                   20 pts.
Go to McDonald's after school 5 pts.
Go to a movie with friends      15  pts.
Go out with friends (for soda or
similar brief activity)               15  pts.
Go shopping                          15 pts.
Go to a rock concert            300  pts.
 

8. Set a daily family meeting time and distribute the materials to your child.  At future meetings, a topic of discussion will open or close each meeting (see below).  Each family member must, in turn, speak to the topic.

9.  Start the program.  Your child should enter points for completed tasks in his  'bankbook.  S/he should inform you of duties performed by telling you or leaving notes in a certain place.  You should inspect and verify that your child has performed the duty to your satisfaction (give partial points for partial accomplishment).  Compare totals at the nightly meetings.  On Thursday ("payday") your child is presented with his/her earned allowance.  S/he may write checks at any time to spend earned points for privileges, but s/he must never overdraw his account.  Never make loans.  Your child must earn his/her privileges and allowance.
 

Family Conference Topics
I know something good about you and it is...

If I could change something about you it would be The nice thing about you is...

What can I do to help your self-esteem? What I like most about you is...

What I see you going through now is...

What means the most to me in our relationship is "Trigger words" you use that irritate me are...

What are your emotional needs concerning me? I thought I knew everything about you until...

What would you like to see changed in our family? What can I do to help meet your social and personal  needs?

This is the way I feel about sharing the responsibilities of being a family member...

I perceive our relationship to each other as The kind of family life I want is My view of myself physically is...

Some inner resources I would like to develop are...

What are some areas we can rediscover as points of sharing?

How am I doing at recognizing, supporting, and sharing in your feelings and ideas?

How am I doing at listening to what you have to say? A recent thing you did that pleased me was...

Activities and Discussion Questions

1. What can parents do if their child refuses to engage in this program?

2. Before the first payday, your child asks for money which s/he says s/he's already earned by completing various responsibilities. What can be done in this situation?

3. Practice the explanation of the program to your child (step 4).

4. Design your own record sheet (see step 2).

5. Devise a list of daily and weekly responsibilities

6. The various family members have trouble making meeting times due to varying schedules. What can be done?
 
 

If you fetch the home page, five "dollars" will be credited to your "bank account".

Fetch Dr. Mac's Home Page

Source: Tom McIntyre & Karol Cowell-Stookey (1994). A home-based plan for developing prosocial behavior in rebellious adolescents. Perceptions, Volume 28, number 2, pages 16-18.