5.12 – Teaching and rewarding

Children just love Star Charts! Not the horoscope, but a chart on the wall where you add a sticky star when they have achieved something.

If there is something you want your child to do consistently, for example on a daily basis, set up a simple star chart.

A star chart is simply a chart on the wall where you can stick stars for each chore or good behaviour that your children achieves. Not only is this a fun reward system but it is also a visual reminder for both you and your child. Once your child is in the habit of achieving everyday activities you can then think of removing the star chart.

You can create your own star chart, buy one or find a template on the internet.

Older children may not be so impressed with star charts, but if they are given a task that needs recording on a daily basis they may be satisfied with a tick or a mark on a calendar or a note in a diary.

When children are very young they are delighted to stick a sticker on their chart and show off about how many they have; as they get older you may need to negotiate how you record their progress and how you reward them.

Rewards

Giving rewards doesn’t mean you have to spend money, but if you want to that’s entirely up to you. Rewards could be time spent with family or friends, places to go, activities, foods (eg choosing what’s for tea or choosing a treat for the weekend) or baking a cake with you.

For examples of Star Charts that you can use and download for free please visit www.netmums.com

Teaching and rewarding scenarios

The things that parents want their children to do need to become standard daily behaviour. To encourage this we need to teach them and reward them. Let’s see if we can help with the following situations…

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