Hellobee Boards

Right now we're just working on having LO stay in bed all night. We have a sticker chart to show how many nights he has been successful. He didn't care for it at first and would rather join us in bed or have one of us in his room. This week he has been on a role and staying in bed. He wakes up to ask if he has earned a sticker. His reward will be a trip to TRU to buy a Chuggington train. He came up with the guidelines - how many stickers to receive the award and the actual prize when he has filled the chart.

We don't do a sticker chart, I actually never gave much thought on the pros or cons. But just happened on this article that was an interesting read: "The Dangers of Using a Sticker Chart."

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/02/perils-of-sticker-charts/470160/

I tend to use reward-based systems as a last resort, although for very specific behaviors, I think they can be quite useful.

Have you thought about doing one of those clip charts? I tried to find a photo, but couldn't quickly. Basically, you have a posted chart that has "to do" and "done" sides. Then use clothespins, and put a task (or picture of a task) on each one. When the child completes one (brushes his teeth), then he moves from "to do" to "done." There's no reward associated, necessarily, but it keeps them on task and moving toward the goal, and the act of moving it is fun. I suppose you could attach a reward to it, but I'd probably just say that if I needed to remind him to stay on task more than X number of times, then we would lose a bedtime story or something.

I think visual reminders for kids are crazy important, but I agree with the article that attaching rewards to "expected" behaviors can create long-term problems. But you can bet I bribe the heck out of situations where I expect him to go "above and beyond."

ETA: Found a photo