Okay so I’ve changed my mind about behavior charting. It’s a women’s right you know. In a previous blog, I mentioned how I had decided against the idea of using a chart to decrease some of Tyler’s behaviors. However, little did I know the same day I wrote this blog my little one, along with all 21 of his kindergarten classmates, were cutting up in class.
After his teacher told me what happened, I explained to Tyler that this type of behavior would not be tolerated. Since then he’s done fine in school, in fact many days, according to his teacher, he has been the only child in the class who was not misbehaving. The reason I decided to start charting was because after promising him several treats he has done extremely well. There are still times when I find myself having to remind him about certain behaviors but all in all I think he is doing wonderful. The reason I plan to chart is because I want him to visually see when he is doing a good job as well as times when he’s not doing so great a job.
I created a simple Excel spreadsheet listing the behaviors in one column and the days of the weeks in subsequent ones. For each tasks performed he will receive a gold star. For instance, for getting up and getting dressed in the morning without too many prompts or behaving appropriately in school. If I have to warn him three times about any behavior, for instance whining, crying, acting out, etc., then he will get an X for that day for that behavior. When he receives five stars he will be able to get a treat. I like to make the treats non-food related, so it could be staying up 15 minutes longer, an extra book read, a trip to the movies, etc.
I have made it clear to him that the chart is temporary. The ultimate goal is for him to perform these tasks, eliminate certain behaviors on his own without the promise of a reward. I believe it’s worth it to try one more time and see if it works. I’ll let you know how it goes.