I recently won a Little Billies giveaway of a $25 voucher to spend in the store, so I chose the reward chart. I thought this would help to start training Josh in the sort of behaviours I want him to display and help me be more encouraging of those to him. I love the look of these charts too. They are simple with clear pictures, not as fussy looking as others I've seen.
I had been thinking about how to introduce the chart until one afternoon late last week he saw it on the fridge and asked me about it. We sat down on the floor together and I explained that he would get a little 'sticker' to put on it when I saw him doing a great job of something. So slowly over the last few days he has collected a few magnets.
I have also been thinking about how to reward him once he achieves all ten magnets on the chart. I really wanted to avoid anything food related as he already loves his food and don't want to start encouraging good behaviour for sweet treats. Anyway, hubby answered this for me when he told me that Josh would get a fish book once he achieved a full chart. At bedtime, Daddy and Josh have been looking at a book about the earth and apparently he has been really fascinated with the fish. He is also very into Finding Nemo at the moment. I liked that the special treat for him would be a book, something to further develop his little mind.
So I hope eventually we all get the hang of this reward chart business. Josh has a real problem with listening and obeying what we ask of him at the moment, typical toddler stuff I guess. It means that often getting ready for bed takes far too long, etc. Since starting the reward chart we can now reward him for listening, doing a great job, having a great attitude.
Have you had any experience with reward charts? Have they helped?
Sounds like a wonderful idea - and I love that the reward is a book. I think I will be doing something very similar when Zoe is older.
ReplyDeleteAs a teacher I have worked with lots of families to develop a reward chart for their child's behaviour. I think it is important to make the first reward quickly achieveable so that your son understands the whole process, so catch him doing the right thing often to start with.
ReplyDeleteKeep your expectations clear and break them down into small achieveable steps.
Try to always always express your expectations in the positive, what you want to see, not what you don't want to see.
Letting your son choose a family outing (from a shortlist that you compose) can be a great reward as kids love spending time with your full attention, and we are all so busy that life often gets in the way.
P.S. If timing is an issue with your son, make it a race, he has to finish the task before you do x or alternatively set a timer. The race makes it fun!
Good luck