Parenting Gamified

A year and a half ago I joined KNOLSKAPE, a top 20 Gamification Company. I had no clue about gamification until then. I don’t claim to have expertise but I have spent sometime reading Kevin Werbach’s course on Gamification, Octalysis framework by Yu-Kai-Chou, lessons from our CEO, Rajiv Jayaraman and other online resources.

A few months ago, I was at a colleague’s place for lunch with my 3 year old daughter and we were discussing about what “Drive” and “Motivation” means on a personal and a professional context. And during the discussion, the colleague mentioned something that amazed me.

“ Damn — I have been doing this all along! I have been applying GAMIFICATION every single day with my daughter!”

After the lunch episode, I became a little more cognizant of the things/activities that motivates my daughter. I started applying Octalysis framework’s white and black hat core drives that helps me to teach her new stuff, get things done and engage her with minimal exposure to gadgets.

Here are some examples of How I use White & Black Hat Core Drives when I do activities with my daughter

1. To learn new stuff: I have been using tinycards app to teach her Country Flags and there’s a level to be unlocked everyday! We play and #challenge each other to make progress. We are on our way to hitting the 100 countries mark now.
2. To make choices: Whenever we walk into a super market, there have always been some 10 different things added to my basket. I just made one small change, gave her the basket and the liberty to choose 2 things that she would want to buy. With this, she learnt both, to priortize and to let go of things. #Empowerment
3. To take control: We bake cakes/breads together on some weekends and she is given the ownership to whisk,mix and lick things while I take ownership to measure, pour & bake. This helps her to observe, participate and take control whenever she has to. #Ownership
4. To celebrate the wins: In the digital world, everyone is just a call away! What makes her happy is some appreciation from her favorite aunt/uncle and cousins. #SocialInfluence
5. To organize her belongings: She is the superhero, “Wonder-Woman” of the house who can save the world(read world as toys!) #EpicMeaning
6. To getting stuff done: We create a racy/timer/game-like scene to get things done. Right from when she has to return home from the park to getting dressed for school . #Scarcity
7. To keep up the promises: It could be the loss of screen time if she doesn’t finish eating or finish doing her chores #Loss&Avoidance
8. To be curious: Storytelling is a great way to kindle #curiosity in kids. I also do the reverse of storytelling, where I mention 3 things/animals with which she has to weave a story and I throw in surprise elements that makes it #Unpredictable and interesting. Another example is coloring, where we don’t start with a definite picture rather create one after random doodling.

Has this worked for me at all times? Yes & No. There are certain things that kids are expected to do without rewards. They should also not form an impression that they always need social approval for everything. This is just about finding the right balance!

What are some of the things that has worked for you? I would love to hear from you. Leave your comments.