Using Sticker Behavior Charts

Sticker behavior charts can be a very powerful reward for young children and therefore can encourage good behaviour. Sticker charts are easy to obtain with printable reward charts available online (often for free) and then stickers are available either online or in shops. All you need to do is maintain it and keep it going.

A sticker behavior chart helps remind your child (and you!) what you expect of them and it's also is a very simple way of keeping a track on your child's progress. Your child will feel a sense of pride in his achievements and you and your child will feel a sense of satisfaction in the good progress - it always takes two to tango afterall.

The idea of a sticker chart is that you do it with your child so let your child choose the reward stickers. Your child can also put them on the sticker chart. Working as a team will encourage you both to work more together and you can then share the success and excitement.

You might want to have a sticker chart for a particular time of the day e.g. getting ready in the mornings, potty training, a car journey, etc. Keep the target achievable and reward little and often. You could divide the morning into 5 minute slots i.e. calm behaviour for 5 minutes gets a sticker, or by task i.e. getting dressed gets a sticker, brushing hair gets a sticker, and so on.

So sticker behavior charts can be both task orientated or time frame orientated or both at the same time. You must give the reward for the good behavior and give the reward immediately (if the reward is given the next day your toddler won't know what it's for).

Be sure that the sticker isn't the only reward - cuddles, hugs, smiles, kisses need to be plentiful too! Nurturing your child is vital and that postive attention will in turn improve your toddler's behavior.

If your child has behaved badly then you could use an unhappy face or you could choose to ignore the behavior and only focus on the good behavior. You could put up an unhappy face for bad behavior and then if your child then behaves nicely for the next goal or time frame the reward sticker goes over the unhappy face.

Once your child has got the hang of the sticker behavior chart add on the dimension that when your child gets, say, 10 stickers he can have a bigger treat e.g. having a friend over for tea, visiting someone, doing something that he would really look forward to and want. Then he can learn that his behavior has a direct consequence on his fun - if he does something he knows he is not allowed to do and gets an unhappy face then it will take longer to get his treat.

Sticker behavior charts can be small and so can be easily taken out with you. So you can use sticker behavior charts for the home, waiting at the doctors, a car journey, whatever situation where you feel behavior might be a problem.

You can use a sticker chart for an hour - every 5 minutes your child gets a sticker (a happy one or an unhappy face) and if your child gets all happy faces bar one then he can have whatever reward you've decided on (and your child knows what it is). If your child has two unhappy faces then you need to decide whether he can have his reward or not - you might decide on a lesser treat. Keep the targets and rewards flexible so that your child IS able to attain some form of a reward at the end. If he gets no reward even though his behavior has been significantly better than normal then he won't to keep trying to behave.

Also, you don't have to use stickers. You could use small soft balls, bits of duplo, anything that is attractive to your toddler.

You can also use certificates at the end of a goal and printable certificates for kids are widely available online. You could make this into a little award celebration with a small party and where your child is awarded with a certificate for their great behavior.

Some parents do not agree with sticker charts and for some it is a real bonus. If you are struggling with your toddler's behavior then a sticker chart can really work wonders and it's definitely worth trying.

And always, always, accompany good behavior with your positive attention because it works the other way round! Try to remember that good behavior and positive attention go hand in hand - sometimes you just need to get the ball rolling and behavior sticker charts can often help to get it started.