Reward Charts

We have used behavior charts for the past 3 years.  Behavior charts are also known as star charts, or reward charts.    They are a great way to help you stay positive about your child's behaviors, and especially useful for things you would like for them to do (as opposed to things you want them to stop doing).  They are also a good way to teach your child how to motivate himself.

You can start to use behavior charts starting around the age of 3.  With younger children, it is important for them to be able to see the chart through the day.  We print them out from Free Printable Behavior Charts.com.    I usually print out several so that they are handy on the day of the week when I have used up the previous chart.  You can purchase reward stars in the office supply section of Walmart, Target, or any other office supply store.  Or you can just mark a star.  My son prefers to get the sticker on his shirt, but I mark a star on his chart so that he knows I am keeping track.  Younger children also really cannot deal with more than 1 or two behaviors at a time.  Older children may deal with more.  We always try to pick one behavior we're pretty sure they can do consistently, so that they always get one star.  If they get all the stars for the day, they get a bigger sticker.  We like the books from Melissa and Doug and dollar store stickers, but any stickers that capture your child's attention could work.  I have also used toys (confiscated ones) and side walk chalk as prizes, depending on the difficulty of the task.

For older children and teens, you may want to set up their reward system on a mobile app.  There are several out there, but I have heard good things about iReward Chart for Android.

Reward charts also work for adults.  DH has had fairly good success with logging his caloric intake in order to lose weight.  Now if only I could get him to take out the trash....

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