Reward Charts for Kids and YOU

My little girl loves a sticker reward chart. Over the last couple of years or so we've used them for everything from potty training, to staying in her bed at bedtime, to rewarding kind behavior. We always make the chart really colourful and inviting and I have a stack of star stickers (which I've either made myself or bought from the store) to put on the chart whenever she's done well. Three or five in a row means a treat! So the real incentive is for consistency of behavior as much as anything else.

Then I thought - why can't I have a reward chart? (Not for the potty - I'm completely trained now......) No - for stuff that I'm really proud I've achieved - however insignificant they may seem to other people.

Moms very rarely give themselves credit for the phenomenal job that they do. We cook, we clean, we tidy, we put on band aids, we read stories, we counsel...and most of that is before 9am and the real day starts! However, we take it all in our stride and simply accept "That's just what we do!" It's very rare that we acknowledge how amazing all that actually is, or give ourselves credit for getting through a "sticky situation" without losing our cool.

For my little girl, a treat may mean a comic or a candy bar. What would your reward be? (It may be the same!) For me - it's having the luxury of 1 hour off from work and not feeling guilty. Simply curling up with a good book for an hour and having some quiet time. Or a facial! Mmmm.

So, I've started my own reward chart! I've gone for 10 stickers in a row to make it super special to look forward to. And my stickers will come from anything like not getting at my husband because he can't multitask as well as me, to dealing with a situation patiently, rather than snappily.

It sits proudly alongside my little girl's on the kitchen noticeboard and is a great talking point between us as we discuss the reasons behind the stickers we've got.

Bring on that facial!!!
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