I love all your questions!!! I don't think they're harsh at all, after all- we have too many people these days willing to support things that they don't know enough about.
So kudos to you for wanting to find out more!
I'll start with the screen time. I call this game... The "anti-game' game. It involves very little screen time and encourages kids to go live life, earning points.
Do we need awards for everything?
Oh.. wouldn't that be nice! How I would love to get an award for everything I do! Hehehe unfortunately, that's unrealistic. The point is to reward these behaviors as incentive so that when the game is over, they've realized over time that building those good habits are rewarding in and of themselves.
Will people cheat?
There are some barriers built into the game that will thwart some cheating, but as I'm sure you realize by now... There will always be people who take advantage of the system. If you know of any perfect system out there that prevents cheating 100% - please be sure to let me know so we can adopt their model! I am of the mindset that families who use this program are looking to help their children be prepared for life. Could there be families who are here to game the system? Sure! We hope that the barriers that we put in place for the full game will be enough of a deterrent to fight against cheating. This is currently in it's alpha testing, and I personally know the people who were invited to help us test. Cheating isn't a concern for me on this test, but it is one of the things we are actively analyzing for the full game.
Is this just a chore-tracker?
It is not. As you can see from the game, it is not just a checklist; it's interactive. The families decide together what their goals will be for the season. It's individualized. It's also incentivized. Any parent will tell you making the list is not what gets kids excited. It's the consistent follow through, the prodding, (and the excitement of kids) that make the "list" work. Some kids need very little motivation, some need more. Spunkee Monkee allows you to make it work for your own family, since you know your children best. This is all laid out in the Master Agreement.
These are family accounts, not children accounts.
Also, they need their points verified by Spunkee Monkee. We do this through interaction , pictures, video, conversation. If I see the same answers day by day, I challenge them gently to dig a little deeper.
I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "it sounds like an idea." Are you saying this would be something you would rather support when the full version came out, instead of supporting the kids in the alpha test? If so, we surely wouldn't mind that! You are of course free to support at any stage- or not at all! This is appealing to people who see the value in this kind of program, and want to see it thrive at this stage too! If people would prefer to wait until it reaches the final stage, that's fine also. We will take as much support as we can get wherever people feel comfortable!
As far as reports and charts, this is alpha testing where we are gaining the real life data from the kids working on this project. After the test concludes, what kind of charts would interest you personally?
As for raw feedback right now, I can't believe how much the kids are enjoying this. Even the children who are quieter on their journals! There was one child that I thought wasn't enjoying it at all. I thought maybe it just wasn't a good fit for them- until I got a message from their parents saying how much they light up when they read my comments on their day. They said that the questions that I'm asking is causing them to really start to think and they take their responses very seriously. It amazed me because I thought I wasn't getting through, but apparently I'm making a little difference!
That was so encouraging. I've actually been a little bit "beaming" about that for several days now.
Not only the quiet ones- but the ones who are more talkative have become VERY invested in sharing what they did, exploring new thoughts for the following day, and parents are very much on board and committed. Truly exciting stuff! When parents find things that "work" ... The relationship between parent and child gets better.
There are several programs out there that work along these lines. We used them for our own kids and couldn't believe the success that we had. Our kids didn't have to be nagged. About chores at all. That actually were racing each other to get the points. It blew me away. Spunkee Monkee takes it to a new level and doesn't just apply the principle to chores, but to life preparation.
This is an alternative to what families are currently doing. This is not the ONLY way to raise children. Haha If it seems like a square peg/triangle slot program to you, it might be that you already have something that works fantastic for your family. And "if it ain't broke...."
However, for the families that have tried unsuccessfully to motivate their kids, ans they're looking for another way, I'd encourage them to come "play" with us! We would love to come alongside them and be one of the tools in their toolbag!
Thanks for taking a break from the memes and discord to engage with me! 😉 I appreciate the time that it took to write that extensive comment, and I believe that your intention wasn't to be harsh, but to ask for more input so you could be better informed.
Hope I answered all your questions! If not...feel free to ask more!
Dreemsteem
AKA Monkee Capt'n Dreemie