Behavior charts are tools for changing kid’s behavior. They come in several forms, including wall posters and apps.
Behavior charts name or show a positive behavior or goal you want your kid to achieve – for example, saying ‘please’ or setting the table or doing up her own shoelaces.
Your kid’s chart records how often he succeeds in his behavior goals. For example, if you’re using a wall poster, the chart might have spaces for ticks or stickers. An app might have stars that pop up on the screen. Each time your kid does well, he gets ticks or stickers in the spaces or stars in the app. A certain number of ticks, stickers or stars adds up to a reward for your kid.
Reward charts are a powerful way of:
- encouraging behavior you want, like cleaning teeth without fuss
- discouraging behavior you don’t want, like hitting
- rewarding your kid for practicing new skills, like staying next to the trolley when shopping or putting all the toys in a box when asked.
Behavior charts work well for children aged 3-8 years.
You can use a behavior chart when your child needs to work on changing her behavior. Your kid collects stickers or tokens for the chart each time she behaves the way you want. She then gets a reward based on the number of stickers she has gathered. The stickers and the reward reinforce the positive behavior.
When your kid tries hard to change his behavior, a behavior chart can show him when he’s done a really good job and keep him motivated.
Reward charts can also help you to focus on the positives in your child’s behavior. This might be helpful if you’re feeling frustrated by your child’s behavior and have been paying more attention to negative behavior.
Some parents worry that rewards for good behavior are like bribes, but they aren’t the same. The difference is bribes are given before the behavior you want, but a reward is given after. For example, a reward might be that you let your child choose what’s for dinner if she plays well with friends. And rewards aim to reinforce good behavior, but bribes don’t.