The past couple of months, our 6yr old has been a real challenge. I know it's natural for him to go through stages of testing us, but he really has tried his best to ignore the clearly set rules of this house. As you can imagine, after two months of this, the atmosphere in the house has been very tense and negative.
So I had this bright idea to retrain our son to be a good listener. So we took him to the toy store to pick out a prize for $20 or less. Then I taped the chart below to the toy still in the package. Every time our son is able to do something we ask right away without our having to repeat ourselves, such as to clean up the toys at the end of the night or to stop tormenting his younger siblings, he would earn a sticker for his chart. When he fills the forty squares, he will get the toy.
(To print, click on the image to enlarge. Then right-click and select print.)
The verdict is still out on whether this chart will work. What I can tell you is that my son is able to earn many stickers in one day when he puts his mind to it. It's his willingness to participate continuously that is the issue.
If you end up trying to use this chart with one of your children, please do let me know how it works out for you.
My 5 and 6 year olds have started talking back. I'm wondering if it's a phase. I think a reward system or positive reinforcement are a good idea.
mami2jcn at gmail dot com
Posted on February 10, 2010 11:06 AM
I hope you'll post on your progress! I have a couple of kids who could work on their listening skills, too.
Posted on February 10, 2010 11:51 AM
That's a great idea! We've been trying to find ways to work on listening skills too.
Posted on February 10, 2010 8:46 PM
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