Our approach

A scaffold, not a scoreboard.

Most chore apps are point machines: do the thing, get the sticker, repeat forever. They work — for about two weeks. Then the points become the point, and you've traded nagging for negotiating.

Rewhaven is built on a different bet: the token economy is temporary scaffolding. It exists to help kids build real habits and real independence — and then it gets out of the way.

Research on token economies is clear about the failure mode: when rewards target compliance, intrinsic motivation erodes, and response costs (taking points away) trigger shame and avoidance — especially for neurodivergent kids. So we removed those mechanics entirely and designed the system around three needs from Self-Determination Theory.

A different bet

A scaffold, not a scoreboard.

Every feature is grounded in Self-Determination Theory — the science of how motivation actually grows.

🙋 Autonomy

Kids opt into bounties. Nothing is force-assigned for tokens — choosing the work is half the point.

💪 Competence

Tasks sized to succeed, not to catch failure. Big jobs break into steps kids can finish.

❤️ Relatedness

The family is a team, not a marketplace. Kudos and shared goals keep connection above transaction.

Read our full approach →

Beds don't pay. Bounties do.

Baseline expectations — brushing teeth, making the bed — earn no tokens. They're part of being in the family. Only optional, above-and-beyond bounties pay. That line is what keeps tokens from breeding entitlement.

Tokens can never be taken away. Ever.

There is no punishment mechanic in Rewhaven — not as a setting, not as a workaround. The data model itself can't go below zero. We removed the possibility, not just the button.

Designed to retire itself. 🌅

As a routine becomes mastered, its payout gently fades and is replaced by Kudos — real appreciation from real family members. Success isn't a bigger balance; it's the day your kid doesn't need the app.

Privacy and dignity, by architecture.

Any photo your child submits is reviewed by you — and any AI that looks at it runs on your device. Pictures of your kids never touch our servers. Rewhaven is not a surveillance tool: verification exists to resolve disputes, not to monitor. And a parent always makes the final call before tokens move — never an algorithm.