Yes, another chart.  I’m a charting mom.  I’ve always found charts to be a great motivator when I’m trying to encourage certain behaviors/habits in my kids.  Once you accept the fact that no chart will work forever and for every child, you’ll love charts too.  Obviously, kids get sick of things and like to be introduced to something new.  So, when the thrill wears off…we move on to something else.  The point is consistently teaching them and showing them what is important.  And, I tell you what….my kids staying on their beds at night is pretty dang important, to me.
Isn’t it the worst when you FINALLY crash on your bed, knowing you have taken care of EVERYTHING (except the husband) and the time is finally yours (in a few more minutes)…when in walks junior, whom you JUST put to bed.  He needs some water, another hug, another kiss, to go to the bathroom, a snack, to ask a few questions about the galaxy and gray wolves, AND he’s scared.  Then Junior #2 and #3 hear Junior #1 getting attention, so they scramble out of their beds to join in.  All the sudden, your starting again at square one…but, this time…you’re breathing FIRE.  You get frustrated, yell a bit, and then go to bed feeling guilty for ending the day like that.  The guilt only lasts for a minute because it’s quickly interrupted again by Junior…he forgot “just one more thing”.  Ugh.  You freak, threaten to ground him from life and he runs screaming to his room (only to wake up the sleeping baby).  You heave a big, exhausted sigh…lay there hoping the baby will go back to sleep.  And, oh yeah,…the husband still has plans for you.
In our house, the above ritual was turning into a nightly thing.  And, I was turning into a beast.  I needed another chart, another motivator…here’s what I came up with and it has worked like a charm!  We are in our 3rd week doing it and I am in love.  Hopefully, it will form a new habit so that when the thrill wears off, I won’t have to come up with something else. 🙂
So, I asked 3 of my offending punks to tell me their most favorite treats (small ones).  Yes, I’m not above rewarding with candy.  It’s what they want…and it’s super motivating because I don’t let them have it whenever they want.  The thought of winning their own small jar of candy was like heaven.
Audrey picked Smarties and flavored Tootsie Rolls.
Shane picked Jolly Ranchers and Gobstoppers.
Caden picked Junior Mints.
I filled up their jars, each with their favorite candies.  I carefully COUNTED how many candies were in each jar (and wrote it down in a secret place), then sealed them up.  (Small candies make it more difficult to guess correctly…which, is a good thing.) I then put their names on the top, using the Maestro Label Designer…
I told the kids that each night they stay on their bed, without getting off even once, they could take ONE guess (in the morning) as to how many candies were in their jar.  When they guess correctly, they get to keep their whole jar of candy!  I made a guessing chart on Excel.  That way, they could cross off the number they guessed and not guess it twice.  There were a hundred numbers to choose from, so I felt confident it would take a while…unless they were super lucky.


It’s worked JUST like I hoped!  The kids are on their beds the whole night and it drives them absolutely NUTS trying to figure out what that number is.  I love it.  So far, Shane is the only one to have guessed his number.  Luckily, he is so proud of his candy jar that he is really stingy about how many he will eat.  He doesn’t want it to be empty!  He now stays on his bed to help earn bonus guesses for his brother and sister.
 
This idea can really work for lots of different situations:
If you’re kids won’t eat their dinner…
If you’re kids aren’t being nice…
If you’re kids are being potty trained…
If you want them to read more books…
If you want them to do their chores…
You want them to play together more…
etc.
etc.
etc.