After  running  an  in-home  daycare  for  22 years,   I was  presented an opportunity to work with  two  physically  abused  children.  I had exhausted  all known techniques to get simple  tasks completed with a very  aggressive  and angry three year  old.  The  disruption caused  with the other children took all of my  energy and  left little for the rest of the  children.

Before  Kids  Coins  were available, I called to see if I could get a trail  program. After receiving the program,  we  went to work immediately!  Another  child aged two years  that I had  privately nicknamed  "The Wild Child"  was in a family with no discipline and lots of screaming.  Both boys loved  Kids  Coins!  Presenting  the I Can Do It  Coins gave them a plan to follow,   visual  reinforcement  and a chance to earn a star.  The first  afternoon brought amazing  results.

Both  boys referred to  the Coins to see what  was coming next. One Star  and Two Star  quickly  became  prized possessions  and they wanted to know when they would get  "Goldie".  The smile on the three year olds'  face when he was able to tell his mom that he got  "Goldie"  told me that I finally found a way to get through to him without all the distrust he felt for so many other people.

I'm Feeling Coins  brought the next big breakthrough.  There were many things in his  background that caused  anger and distrust.  He never talked about his feelings, just acted on the frustrations they created.  I could not hold his hand without  him wanting to hit or rage  verbally.  Feeling Coins gave him  a visual link  to the  feeling  that was  named on the Coin. After  presenting and explaining the Feeling Coins,  he  immediately told me that  he wanted to pick out his feelings.  He picked out the So Sad  Coin  and  proudly  displayed it.  I  asked him why he had picked the  Coin and he was able to  tell  me  that  he  didn't  know  why he was sad.  Each time he picks a Feeling Coin, we are now able  to discuss why he picked that specific Coin.  A  few  weeks  later he surprised me and picked the  Lovable Coin.  He  told  me  that  he picked it because "Goldie loved Him". So Sad and Testy are  his  favorite Coins,  but not as often.  He can  now express many  different ways that he feels.

For over a  year, Kids Coins has given me a very good way  to deal with problem behavior as well as  normal  behavior in the children that I care for.  The children love to have their tasks and activities laid out and can't  wait  to  receive  their Gold Coins  and  "Goldie".  The children love all the  songs and are an excellent reinforcement.  It  is very  encouraging  to hear three year old children telling each other to "try harder"  instead of yelling or hitting. 

Without Kids Coins, the three year old boy would have been removed from my program. He is still here and making great progress.

Sincerely Yours,    Susan Gail Kelly, owner    

WeeWalkers Daycare, Milan, MI  

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