Child Behavior Charts

A positive way to correct unacceptable behaviors by your child is with the use of behavior charts. Managing your child's behavior is as old of task as parenting itself. However, many is the time that behavior management isn't even considered until the child has reached a school age and the traits of the ‘terrible two's' have continued with the child as they reach school age.

 Using behavior charts will encourage the child to think and act appropriately to the situations they encounter and are a highly effective homeschool resource for you.

Setting up and using a behavior chart is not a difficult task. You can be creative with your ideas and you should work with it and adjust it according your child's needs and personality. The concept behind the behavior chart is that positive behavior is reinforced positively. Simple enough.

With that in mind, accentuate the positive. The chart should be about rewarding positive behavior and not penalizing negative. Make a big excited deal about putting points up or checking items off. Do not use the board to talk negatively about those items that don't get checked off. Work from the positive.

Please make successes easy to come by for the child. Don't load up the chart with big challenging items. Again, we want to build upon successes and celebrations. Also random acts of good behavior counts! Reward it.

Variable points behavior chart. This concept really works well. For example if a chore or task is worth 5 points if they complete it by themselves, then give them 3 points if you have to help, but they try hard, give a point if you have to do most of the work but they fully cooperate and try to learn with you. Again, find ways to be positive!

If your child doesn't quite understand the concept of the behavior chart use something tangible that they like and understand. Jelly beans in a jar, pennies in a piggy bank.... Just be creative. If you aren't a bit of a creative sort there are many ideas and concepts available in bookstores and the web. Rewarding positive behavior, celebrate successes, and you will soon be getting the behavior you want.