How to Encourage Independence in Your Preschooler | A "Princess in Training" Reward System

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Our 4 year old, London, is heading into Pre-K this upcoming school year, so this summer I’ve made it my mission to encourage independence. She is fairly independent by nature, but we want to instill responsibility and good manners as she prepares for Kindergarten and beyond.

One way we are motivating her is with a simple pom pom jar reward system. Throughout the week she can earn pom poms for completing various tasks around the house and using kind manners. At the end of the week when she has filled her jar, she gets a prize. Pretty simple, right?

We thought about what her prize(s) should look like, and what better way to reward her for her good behavior than with her favorite thing ever – the Disney Princess characters! So, we headed to Walmart to check out the “Disney Princess” Gem Collection. This fun collection features 12 different 2″ Disney Princess characters that are sold individually. With a low price point of only $3.88, we were instantly sold! Not to mention she was clearly mesmerized by these in the store and wanted to start opening them right away.

Each Disney Princess comes in a surprise box – each with their own stackable storybook case. What I love about this collectible collection is that you don’t know which princess is inside until you open the box, so it’s a fun surprise every time!

Once we got home from Walmart, we explained to London that in order to open one of her Disney Princess characters she would first have to fill up her pom pom jar. Since we knew she was very clearly motivated by earning each surprise box, we decided to make it special and call her reward system “Princess in Training”. Her eyes lit up and she was eager to start helping right away!

Throughout each week we encourage her to help around the house with various tasks like watering the plants on the patio, cleaning up her toys, putting her dishes away in the sink, and using kind manners – all things a princess would do.

For each task she completes we award her with a pom pom for her jar. She can also earn extra pom poms for other “good deeds” such as sharing nicely with her older brother and doing things like getting dressed for the day, without having to be asked.

At the end of the week when her jar is full, she finally gets to open a princess from the gem collection!

Inside each surprise box you will find a stackable storybook-shaped case, a background unique to each princess, as well as a 2″ Disney Princess Gem figure.

The background fits perfectly inside the case which allows each princess to live inside her world. There are 12 Disney Princess characters in total to collect, which make these a great weekly reward!