You remember it, don’t you? A paper plate with a fastener holding moving paper arms that rotated around the plate and pointed to your next familial task: mow the lawn, do the laundry, set the table. At our house, we got our allowances in return for doing what the wheel said. Some families had Patton-like plans down to how many times per week a chore needed doing; others had a complex merit and demerit system. In hindsight, our family work wheel was often woefully ignored, but wonderfully sweet. I’m glad to see the work wheel sensibility meet the digital age in a web site called Handipoints. Handipoints lets you create real-world goals and chores using an online chore chart and rewards system. Parents create the task list, and those who do will find that no chore is left unturned on the Handipoints’ list — from brushing your teeth to bathing the dog.

Tasks are divided into groups: Happy Tasks (doing the laundry), Healthy Tasks (brushing your teeth), and even Smart Tasks (educational games that will be added to the site). The reward system is intricate, but it’s clever. Points are assigned to each task. Tasks can be one time only or recurring. As you complete the chores, the points you gain can be redeemed for all sorts of fun web activities like outfitting your avatar or watching an on-screen video.

It’s possible to redeem handipoints for off-screen activities, too. A parent can make handipoints worth allowance money, a family trip, a new toy, or even a charity. Parents are the ones that determine if and when their child has earned what points and parents can tweak the point system so that it’s either grade-based or task-based. Custom tasks (practice violin) can be created as well. It’s a very flexible and robust system.

While I was on the Handipoints website, I read some of the parents’ discussion groups. They were lively and thoughtful and covered all sorts of parenting issues. Of course my mom and dad would forget about our chore wheel for weeks at a time. And to tell the truth, we concocted all sorts of inside deals amongst the four of us (mostly we paid my youngest brother slave wages to do everything). It remains to be seen whether or not digital parents will find the process worth maintaining and whether kids can understand the subtleties of chores tied to various incentives.

If used regularly, I’m sure it will be a far more fulfilling system than our paper plate work wheel since it’s been created to foster a dialogue with parents and their children. For now, user membership is free. Promise you’ll check it out and I’ll give you 3 handipoints.