Is it okay to have more then one reward chart for a 3yr old? or is that to overwhelming and hard to follow?

Question

I was thinking about doing a potty chart, behavior chart, and a sleeping good chart, possibly a good eater chart. Is that to much for one child to work on should I focus on one at a time and what's more important behavior, potty??

Answer 1

EXCELLENT idea....tape your charts very close to the goal you are trying to achieve...it won't be too complicated for your little one...they are literally sponges at this age. If you have your potty training chart on the bathroom door, and the bedtime/sleeping chart on his/her bedroom door etc...it'll be just fine.

The only suggestion I have is to ensure the charts are all in the same format. (look the same....get the same smiley face/sticker near each goal)

Good Luck!!!

Answer 2

Four separate charts are a bit much for a 3 year old. Pick 2 or 3 things out of the four that you want to work on. Go over the chart with your child and set a goal. If you choose 3 things each out of the four charts and set a goal of earning 8 stickers/stamps out of the items on the chart and your child can choose a prize from the (dollar) store. Once your child has achieved 8 for two weeks increase it to 10. Once your child has achieved 10 for another two weeks aim for all the items on the chart consistently for two weeks. At that point gradually ease them out of the chart so that it becomes second nature for your child to achieve those things that were on the chart without asking for a reward.

Answer 3

It sounds like too many charts to me...

How about you try giving your child meaningful praise and attention for when he/she is behaving well or doing as you ask.

Motivate your child by reinforcing his/her positive  behaviour, not by just giving a sticker. Or if stickers do seem to work really well, give your child a sticker AFTER you have given them meaningful praise.

Do some research on intrinsic motivation if this interests you. :)

Answer 4

It really depends on your child and you know your child best.  :-)

What made you decide to use a reward chart? Though I have seen them be successful...I tend to steer away from them myself since many of the things that they are used for are everyday "have to" things and in real life we don't get rewards for that.  It might lead the child to feel that he can't or won't do something unless there is a reward.

However, if you still wish to use one... I agree with those about being specific in you expectation and possibly including them all on one chart.  

A potty chart with stickers is okay so they can be "proud" of how many times they went.  But a sleeping good, good eater, and behavior chart is really too broad for this age.  Consider focusing on one aspect.  What bothers you most?  What can you do as the adult to help in that?  Maybe a routine needs to be changed.  

I find that "sleeping good" is a common "problem" amongst the families and to be truthful...I find the ones that have problems falling asleep are the ones that have the tv going at 9:00P or they do not have a bed time routine (which starts 15-30 minutes BEFORE they should be in bed), they have a lot of parent night's out and baby sitters, older sisters or Grandma's are in charge of putting them to bed and they all do it differently, and the biggest one...the child is put to bed after they are extremely tired!  These are all things that cause a "sleeping" problem...and really it's not the kid's fault at all.

With the behavior...choose one behavior that gets to you the most and work on that one.  I have found that when one has multiple behaviors that you are trying to change/curb then you are always "getting after" the child and life tends to be more negative.  And really, the child isn't clear on what he/she should be doing. If you wish to do more than one behavior at a time I suggest a visual "rules chart".  I did that with a few children I have cared for and my own son.  This is not a reward system...this is a reminder system.  I made a picture of what the child should do and wrote next to it a positive guideline such as ...walking feet in the house or food/drink stays in the kitchen.  Then if the child "breaks the rule" I just had to take them to the chart and have them help me read the rule.  It only took about a week at the most in every situation.  

"Good Eater":  What is a good eater?  You're job as a mom is to provide a variety of healthy food.  If your child does not choose to eat it... bummer.  Next meal is at _____.  A child will not starve themselves.  I'm not saying this is you...but many many "problem eaters" at meal time derive from children who do not eat the meal but are allowed snacks between and not necessarily good ones.  I have no problems with snacks...if they are healthy and are at the same time every day...not just when a child decides he/she wants them.  So again...instead of a rewards chart...maybe consider how it's being handled from the adult's side.  Do not feel bad if a child does not eat, especially at 3 years old... and it's just a power struggle to "make" them eat.  We have a rule at our home that if there is dessert served, the child must try everything on their plate.  But if they do wish to eat, that's fine...no dessert will be served to them. We try to steer clear of warnings.  A three year old WILL remember without repeated warnings and reminders.  Good luck!

Answer 5

I dont think that is too much. Keep the potty chart simple and in the bathroom. The behavior chart can be as simple as using listening ears or not using listening ears. Make a rabbit and add/remove ears as needed. And as for the sleepchart. Make it a bed and place it on the fridge. If your child can say have two good listening days and two good nap days then reward, reward, reward. Be easy on the potty thing. it will happen on its own time.

Answer 6

i like ed's answer. i made a potty chart for my daughter when she potty trained. she got one sticker for pee and two for p**p.

good eater is pretty vague. your child will eat good food if it's what presented to him/her! if you don't want your child to eat junkie food, don't keep it in the house. i keep a 'snack drawer'. it has healthy snacks like granola bars and crackers.

something that i do food good behavior at school and did a little bit at home is a Manner's Book. if i catch the kids doing something kind for another kid or really remembering to use their manners, i give them a sticker for their book. when they get 30 stickers, they get a new book. i like doing the manner's book because it's spontaneous. the kids don't expect stickers at this point because it's just when i catch them doing something. it's not like every time they say thank you they get a sticker. it's like if i catch a child tying another kid's shoe or getting paper towels for a kid who made a mess, i point out, 'oh! look at how jacob's helping phoenix!' my class loves to help each other out!

i did a sleep sticker chart for like a month for my daughter at one point. when she was 3 or so, she wanted me to stay with her until she fell asleep. so every time she went to sleep without me, she got a sticker. instead of just saying 'sleeping good', make it specific. you get a sticker if you stay in your bed all night or if you go to sleep without crying...whatever the problem you're wishing to address is.

if you're having trouble potty training, let your kid run around naked for a weekend. if he/she pees or poops on the floor, have he/she cleans it up and puts it in the toilet. without a diaper, your child will become really in tune with when he/she needs to go. after cleaning up pee and p**p one or two times, and with the reward of stickers, i bet your kid will be potty trained within one weekend. i did my daughter that way and she was potty trained within days and she was only 22 months old! she pooped under the table one time and that was the only time she ever didn't go in the toilet.

good luck :)

Answer 7

YIKES!!!  Who can keep up with that?  How about a "do what I say" chart?

Answer 8

one at a time - focus on the one that is most important to you and when he has that accomplished, you can change to a different one.  Don't forget the rewards for the good behavior.

Answer 9

That's way too much. Please don't reward eating. It will teach your child to eat if they aren't hungry and can lead to obesity later in life. Unless your doctor is concerned because your child is underweight don't worry about him/her eating. He/she will eat when he/she is hungry. I would also question your motives behind the sleeping chart. You can ask the child to lay down and rest but can't make him/her sleep. He/she may also be a bit young to understand the behavior chart. I would start with the potty chart or do a behavior chart that included pottying and maybe one of two other behaviors. Be careful not to overdo the behavior charts because they child will get bored and confused.

Answer 10

NO... you need to look at changing one behavior at a time...pick the one that you want to change the most and start there.  You can then introduce the next behavior chart the next month or as soon as the skill is mastered.  I teach preschool and instead of using behavior charts we work on procedures.  We practice the procedure several times a day.  Having a regular routine will help your child more than anything.

Answer 11

I think thats a lot for your child to take in at 3 years old and may cause anxiety issues...not all of them will really require a reward chart...some of the learning can be through praise and positive reinforcement rather than a 'rewards'. However you could also make one big chart with headings eg: Things I have done today: and have three columns-I have been good, I have been helpful and I used the potty today. Use pictures to represent each heading so your child can see what you are expecting. Things like eating can come under 'being good'.

For things like being a good eater try activities rather than rewards eg: have your child help in the cooking (safety), make buns together, make sure portions arent too big and off putting, look at timing of the food-is it too close to snack etc. You may not need a chart if you make 'eating' a fun experience to begin with. Same goes with sleeping...

Personally I think at 3 behaviour is important-if child is three and you feel their behaviour is not as it should be then I'd workon that as potty training will not work until he/she understands the concept of behaviour!

Also one warning-although reward charts are good, it does teach the child to do things for the reward rather than because they need to do it for themselves! So once its working try to 'wean' child off of it so the behaviour becomes part of everyday life.

Answer 12

no too much for a 3 yr old mayb 2 charts as long as they understand exactly what theyr for but id do 1 at a time and focus on what more important id say behaviour is more important but if their behaviour is ok or not bad not gd then potty

Answer 13

If you put them all on the same chart it could work and evaluate them together. I did this when my oldest was 3.

But no more than 3  very specific things eg dry night, set the table, slept in own bed.

A behavior chart is too broad at this age. Choose specific behaviors to work on eg sharing, saying thank you, picking up toys.

Answer 14

I don't think ANY reward chart is appropriate in the classroom setting.