Parenthood RPG

There are lots of parenting styles: time outs, spanking, unnecessary ADHD prescriptions, et cetera. I was raised Catholic, so shaming and guilt was an essential aspect of my upbringing. However effective, none seem adequate enough for my parenting style.

Instead, I'm going gamify the notion of parenthood. I'm going to be the DM to my son's journey into manhood!

Allowances? Heck no! Finish "Daily Quests" and earn "treasure" (really, just money)!

EXAMPLE

TITLE: Plague Eradicator!

DESCRIPTION: The build up of too much debris attracts more than bad odor. It can fester and spread disease that threatens our kingdom! You must fend off the threat by disposing of all rot!

Gather all the debris containing a high risk level of spreading plague germs.
Dispose of it all by removing it from the kingdom.
Place all debris in the impenetrable containment unit prepared outside the castle walls.
Ensure impenetrable containment unit is purified every seven moons.

REWARD: Complete this task seven days in a row to receive +5 treasure.

Optional: check and clean debris in transports for an additional +2 treasure.

TRANSLATION: Empty all trash cans in the house. Do it everyday, then earn $5. Clean the cars for an extra $2.

So all house chores will be developed and tracked using Evernote (of course). Performing other tasks will also allow Stark (our son) to level up! He'll need to reach certain levels to unlock higher quality rewards.

For example, successfully completing the task described above for an entire month will allow him to level up as a "Plague Eradicator". When he reaches level 5, he receives a token that allows him to stay up past bedtime on a weekend of his choice or play Wii U for an extra hour.

Parenting: Complete.

Published on April 13th, 2014 by Josh Flores