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Fun and Engaging Tool to Motivate Children

Child Inspired: Tools for Teachers and Families

By Christina Connors, Goal Maps December 8, 2016

Are you in the middle of potty-training and those M&M’s are not working anymore? Or is your child older and needs to improve their behavior or skill in an area?  Is it becoming ever more frustrating, discouraging or difficult?

As a mother of two, I have been faced with these same scenarios. I struggled to find the right incentives, sometimes they worked and at other times they did not. Until now.

As an Occupational Therapist with over 15 years of experience, I decided there had to be a better way to demonstrate to my children their progress towards a goal. Too often we forget about the journey and only look at the “prize."



Taking my original product, Get Well Maps, which uses a fun, visually engaging design to assist a care team to effectively communicate progress to families and children who are hospitalized, I redesigned it to be used at home and in schools.

The Goal Notepad set uses fun, developmentally appropriate techniques to encourage and motivate children towards improved behavior and skill development. Each set includes 25 maps and 28 repositionable stickers, allowing the parent and child to visually illustrate their progression towards a goal or incentive. This takes the old-fashioned sticker chart to a whole new level.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqormZeQnTA

And with anything in life, there are setbacks. Each map has an area where the illustrated sticker can go to when the child’s progress is “off course”. A pit stop for a racecar to get new fuel or fresh tires, or a castle stop where the princess can have her dress mended. You get the point. An easily demonstrated area on the map in which the child can understand that there is a pause in their progress...because even adults make mistakes or need rejuvenation in the pursuit of our goals.

These notepads are great not only in your home but have also been successful in schools and those working with children with special needs. Having a visual reminder of their goal and seeing their sticker advance through the path provides the child the confidence and motivation to keep going to reach their goal(s) and potential.