Correcting Behaviour with Sticker Charts

Having children is a joy but it can also be difficult at times (well more often than not)- sometimes I feel like a professional moderator between my 3 and 5 year old. And sometimes I just feel at a complete loss of what to do during a full blown temper tantrum where everything in a five foot radius is being hurled at the wall (or me) with the speed closer to a professional pitcher than a 3 year old.

Having a discussion with another mom at work about the daily struggles; she said she had implemented a sticker chart at home and when her son earned x amount of stickers he achieved a special weekend activity like going to the arcade or the movies.

And when I was exhausted one night (okay that's every night) with both kids crying that they didn't want to go to bed - I decided to try that sticker chart she had mentioned.

I drew a rudimentary chart with their names and the two tasks we struggle with the most; going to sleep by themselves - in their own bed and going to school in the morning without crying.

So I showed them the chart and explained it to them. If they get 7 stickers they get their choice of activity and if they get 14 stickers: a perfect week they get a large toy on top of the activity. I tried to set it up that they would get something even if we have some failures along the way.

My daughter decided she needed Shopkins stickers and Dylan needed Paw Patrol stickers, and we seem to have 3208 stickers in our house anyways so I was fine with that.

And with that my daughter started going to bed without a fuss! When she would start to get upset I would gently remind her of the sticker chart she would calm down immediately . I would make a big production of marking them off the next morning or when we got home from daycare/school without incident.

A few tips for success:

Choose a few behaviours that you want to concentrate on - you can slowly add more behaviours or tasks as you approve on the initial ones, and slowly faze other ones out.

Try to have the same tasks for each sibling if possible, this may not be feasible if their is a large age gap between siblings. My one child has a difficult time going to bed on their own and my other had a hard time ging to school without crying so I put both behaviours under each childs name so they can each earn atleast one sticker fairly easily.

Tell them the prizes at the beginning of the week, it doesn't have to be expensive but something that the child wants. You can give them a choice between a few options to keep it on budget.

Put the chart somewhere prominent - ours is on the front of our fridge. And give them the sticker when they earn it. If they go to bed without a fuss I will give them a sticker first thing in the morning.

I created a few sticker charts as I couldn't quite find any to meet my needs.

 Trolls Mon - Fri Sticker Chart (2 kids)

Moana Sticker Chart Mon - Fri (2 kids)

And I would also love to hear any of your own personal experiences which make sticker charts a success or what works (or doesn't work!)