Motivation

Our four year old recently received a bucket truck piggy bank from his grandparents. This new toy prompted him to ask us for coins to add to the bank. My husband and I quickly found ourselves explaining the concept of money to his ever developing young brain. Instantly, our son wished to earn money by doing chores around the house. The kid who can rarely be bribed to do anything suddenly was interested in cleaning his room, wiping down the toothpaste stains out of his bathroom sink and polishing the furniture. It got me thinking---how do you motivate a child? Are some kids intrinsically motivated?
To our son, the idea of earning money to add to his piggy bank in order to buy a new sword is motivation enough. So far, it has been working. I haven't had to really motivate him to do much, and it has cost me very little to reward him at this age. I like the idea of instilling some responsibility and giving him a list of chores that are easy for him to accomplish. I don't expect our offer to a quarter here and a dime there to really motivate him for too long, however. So, what's the next step? How do you instill responsibility in children?
Our son knows his daily routine includes brushing his teeth and hair, taking a bath, getting dressed, cleaning his room and making his bed. He is good enough at following through on those daily rituals. We struggle in other areas to motivate him. For example, he always tosses his shoes and socks on the floor as soon as he walks in from outside. And, he never picks them up unless we ask him. His younger brother has started to copy this bad habit. It usually takes a heavy bribe or raising my voice to get him to clean up after himself. Yes, he is only a kid but I believe there is true value in being tidy and maintaining a tidy house. If for nothing else, it helps me maintain my own sanity!
Young boys are notoriously messy and I realize that won't change overnight. It will take some patience, practice, training and time to achieve the results we desire. Studies show that most employed adults are not motivated monetarily. I agree that money is not the ultimate answer. There needs to be recognition of accomplishment, a sense of pride that goes along with motivation. I don't exactly know how that equates to a four year old at this point. Any advice is welcome.

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