Save yourself time and effort by using the DoDots Family System!  It is a hassle-free way to ensure children are fulfilling their responsibilities and accomplishing their tasks independently.  It doesn’t take long before children are independently moving through the Levels, letting the Family System practically run itself.

As parents, we need simple and effective ways to help our children, so we can spend more time enjoying life with them.  The DoDots Family System and Program is designed to make life easier on the parents.  Everything you need to get started comes with the system, so you only have to set it up once, unlike printable chore charts that require constant action on your part.   When parents use printable chore charts, it requires action on their part to print the charts daily or weekly or monthly.  This can be hard to keep up with.  Some parents may do a great job of this, yet most parents struggle to consistently maintain and keep up with this for more than 2-3 weeks. If a parent misses a week to print the child’s chart or perhaps the stickers get lost, everything can easily be thrown off and soon the printable chore chart fizzles.

There is good news!  The creators of the DoDots Family System became tired of recreating chart after chart too, so they designed the DoDots program specifically to never have to print or create another chore chart, behavior chart, or goal chart again.

Another great part about the DoDots Program is that it is easy to reward your children for the things they have earned.  Have you ever promised your child something for doing a good job or behaving well, but then forgotten to get it for him?  This is why having a Family Store in your home makes it easier for you.  This gives you, as the parent, rewards at your fingertips.  Now you won’t have to feel guilty if you forget to buy something they have earned; it will already be right there in your Family Store.

The DoDots Family System is designed to work with any age of a child.

For example, you can have a dot for a 3-year-old to “Get Ready” for the day and a dot for the 16-year-old to “Mow the Yard” on the same board.

How does this work? Choose responsibility words that are age appropriate for each child OR make your own responsibility words by writing your words on the white blank dots provided. This allows you to quickly and easily customize it to any age or ability level.

There are many reasons why families love the DoDots Family System. Two of those reasons are:

1)  It continues to work year after year as their children grow older, never needing to make or print another chore chart, behavior chart, or goal chart again.

2)  Now parents can see their all children’s progress in one place instead of viewing individual charts for each child.  This makes the tracking simple, quick, and effective for children and parents.

No matter your family situation, the DoDots Family System and Program can be used successfully in your home. This is a result of the powerful combination of the Leveling System and token economy. The DoDots Program is designed to be flexible enough to accommodate each family and child’s needs individually to help promote responsibility and independence.

We have received numerous testimonies from families expressing their gratitude for the positive changes that have taken place in their homes. One of the biggest things noted is that children are doing their work without being asked. DoDots has been successful among children with a variety of needs whether it is with children that have tantrums, lack motivation and complain, or whether it is with children that have more special needs.

Here’s how DoDots can help in a variety of family situations:

TWO PARENT HOMES: DoDots makes it easy to keep both parents on the same page with their children. It is easy for a parent to come home from work and see exactly where their children are with everything just by simply looking at the DoDots Family System. Parents can quickly see if children are on Level Two and if they are ready for privileges.

SPECIAL NEEDS: DoDots has also proven successful among children with ADHD (Attention Deficient / Hyperactivity Disorder) and other more severe special needs, because of its unique ability to tailor the chores and goals specific to each child. The consistency DoDots offers makes it easy for these children to know exactly what is expected of them each day. The colorful board is very visual and hands-on which makes it easy to guide children and allows them to take on more independence and responsibility.

SINGLE PARENT HOMES: Single parenting is extremely busy and can be very overwhelming. Our single parents have reported huge and immediate improvements in their children after starting the DoDots Program. These parents can easily get an update about how their children are doing while they are away just by asking about Level Two. These parents have also given extra tickets to older children who pass off Level Two items of the younger children while the parent is away at work. Single parents need as much energy as they can get, so it is nice to let the DoDots Program help run the household for them.

DIVORCED FAMILIES: We have many customers who use DoDots in both homes where children take turns living. This is a huge benefit to the child and to the parents. The child doesn’t have to adjust and try to figure out the different routines and rules in each home each time, which in turn, makes it easier on the parents too. The child also uses the same language such as Level Two and Family Store which makes it a lot easier to move back and forth from homes.

FOSTER FAMILIES: DoDots is also very beneficial to foster parents. Anytime a foster child is added to their home, the child can easily be added to the Family System and quickly participate in being part of the family responsibilities and expectations as well as rewarded for good decisions.

GRANDPARENTS: When you are babysitting your grandchildren (even for just a few days), or if you are the main caregiver for your grandchildren, DoDots can ease your load. This is a perfect way to set clear expectations to have the grandchildren help you and behave, and at the same time, let’s you still be a fun-loving grandparent. Grandchildren love being rewarded with tickets to exchange for fun things or activities at the family store.

EXTRA CHILDREN: If you tend to have other people at your home often, such as a family member you babysit a lot, feel free to add them to the board too! We have even had customers add the neighbor friend who is always at their home. Other children are excited to help and earn tickets too!

Don’t take it from us, learn what other families have said about DoDots Family System in their home.

The Premier Membership to our Member Center is included with each purchase.   The Member Center will guide you through each step of the DoDots Program in English or American Sign Language. It offers step-by-step tutorial videos, Written Instructions, Family Store Tips & Ideas, FAQ (full version), and on-going and open invitation to call or email us with any questions you have.

It includes these seven videos:

1. Setting up your DoDots

a. Learn how to quickly set-up the board with all of the parts and pieces.

b. Learn how the board flows and where to place everything on it.

2. Introducing DoDots to Your Family

a. Learn successful ways to introduce the program to your family to get them excited and ready to use it.

b. Learn how to teach them your expectations for chores in a positive way before starting the Program.

3. Daily/Leveling Section

a. Learn the difference between Level One and Level Two and how it works to motivate children to accomplish their tasks.

b. Learn our “magic” sentence to say to your children, so you won’t need to nag.

c. Learn how to set responsibilities in a unique way, so children can accomplish them easier.

d. Learn how to use the “Your Bucket” magnet to take care of items that get left out a lot such as shoes or backpacks.

e. Learn how to set-up individual responsibilities and/or one responsibility for the whole family to accomplish.

4.  Tickets

a. Learn how to use tickets to encourage your children and to implement behavior management successfully.

b. Learn when the best time is to give to tickets to children.

c. Learn how and when children can earn “extra” tickets.

d. Learn how to track tickets easily.

5. Weekly/Value Section

a. Learn how to implement the family values that are important to YOUR family.

b. Learn how to create positive goals for your children to accomplish whether they are goals to study math flash cards or goals toward improving bad behavior.

c. Learn how to encourage service and have a great Family Night!

6. Family Store

a. Learn how to put the right things in the family store that will motivate your children.

b. Learn how often to open your Family Store in order to make it successful for everyone.

c. Learn how to price items in your Family Store.

d. Learn how to teach children to budget their tickets and/or money.

7. Behavior

a. Learn how to use the DoDots Family System to create positive behavior management in your home to deal with complaining, back talking, defiance, fighting, etc.

b. Learn how to motivate children to behave well in public… at the store, grandma’s house, church, etc.

c. Learn different ways to track goals so it matches your child’s learning style and so you get the results you want.

The Member Center also includes:

1. Complete written instructions, so you can easily refer to them again and again.

2. Family Store Information – a list of fun items to add to your family store as well as great tips and ideas to make your Family Store extra fun.

3. FAQ (full version) – Answers the questions under our website’s FAQ tab, but also many more questions:

What is the best way to introduce the DoDots System to your family?

– How long does it take to get this system working well?

– Does this work without feeling like a nag?

– Does this system address entitlement?

– How do children earn tickets?

– Can tickets be taken away?

– Does this system work for teenagers?

– Do Mom and Dad need to be added to the board?

– Additional Questions answered in the Member Center, not under our website’s FAQ tab:

– How does LEVEL ONE and LEVEL TWO work?

– How do you incorporate behavior into this system?.

– Do you use “allowance” with this system?

– What do you recommend for children that complain about work?

– How much should a ticket be worth?

– Can tickets be exchanged for money?

– What are good items for the family store?

– How often do you open the family store and how do you keep it consistent?

– Can this system be personalized?

“DoDots is a simple, yet very effective behavior management technique for families!  It is easy to implement, simple to maintain and yields very positive results.”
-John D. Livingstone, Ph.D. Clinical Child Psychologist

Under the hood of the DoDots Family System and Program are powerful behavior modification principles and concepts that have been studied for decades and shown to be effective, specifically, those associated with Operant Conditioning.  You may have heard of one of the principles within operant conditioning called “positive reinforcement.”  It has become a popular term and is used almost everywhere in popular media, but that one concept alone often doesn’t produce the lasting changes that parents want. The DoDots Family System was designed around both positive reinforcement and several other successful behavior management concepts.

The DoDots Family System’s patented combination of a leveling system and token economy is the perfect example of taking researched concepts and turning them into something that is easy for parents to use to motivate children but without needing to over-incentivize them to do everyday basics.

Token Economy

A token economy is a simple way to improve behavior that uses tokens (or “Tickets” in the case of the DoDots Family System) to reinforce positive behaviors.   The tickets can be used to purchase items or activity coupons at a “store” that is created by the parents.  The parents fill the store with items and activity coupons that are most motivating to their children.   Using the tokens or tickets as the way to purchase things at the family store also allows for budgeting concepts to be learned such as delayed gratification and savings.

Leveling System

A leveling system is different than a token economy in that the only thing that can be earned is privileges.  The leveling system ties the levels to specific behaviors.  One of the best parts about establishing a leveling system is that it creates a common language and expectation associated the child’s responsibilities in the home and the associated privileges.

Combining the Two

The DoDots Family System and Program includes each of these concepts, designing them specifically for families. The leveling system reduces the feelings of entitlement that can be prominent among children while the token economy creates motivation and a simple way for parents positively reinforce children.

Further Research Reading

Jones et al. (1992) demonstrated the use of a level system in a psychiatric children’s unit. The level system was used to control behavioral excess and shape prosocial behavior. The study demonstrated that over time children progressed to higher levels, which indicates improving behavior over time.

Mastropieri, Jenne, and Scruggs (1988) evaluated two level systems in a resource classroom. Both level systems reduced talk-outs and out of seat behavior.  Assignment completion and accuracy were also increased. This study demonstrated the

effectiveness of level systems on different types of behaviors.

Chance, Paul. (2003) Learning and Behavior. 5th edition Toronto: Thomson-Wadsworth.

Dinsmoor, James A. (2004) “The etymology of basic concepts in the experimental analysis of behavior”. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 82(3): 311–6.

Ferster, C.B. & Skinner, B.F. (1957). Schedules of reinforcement. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts. ISBN 0-13-792309-0.

Lewin, K. (1935) A dynamic theory of personality: Selected papers. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Michael, Jack. (1975) “Positive and negative reinforcement, a distinction that is no longer necessary; or a better way to talk about bad things”. Behaviorism, 3(1): 33–44.

Skinner, B.F. (1938). The behavior of organisms. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.

Skinner, B.F. (1956). A case history in scientific method. American Psychologist, 11, 221–33.

Zeiler, M.D. (1968) Fixed and variable schedules of response-independent reinforcement. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 11, 405–14.