Sweet Success

We've had recently had some parenting success. Our sticker chart was working, for the most part...with the exception of the area we most hoped to see improvement in; that is, listening on the first try without a tantrum. Our original plan was that, after Jack earned 7 stickers (between any of the categories), he would get a small treat. After earning 14 stickers, he would earn a toy that we had purchased and set on top of the bookshelf so he could be reminded of what he was working toward. Well, after doling out many small treats and the big toy but still earning NO stickers in the listening on the first try category, we decided to revisit our approach. While bribery isn't my favorite parenting technique...well, at this point, we are just trying to make it through the day. And, have a polite child to boot. Day after day of poor reports from school, we decided to pull out the big guns and specifically target this one behavior. The "big guns" being chocolate. Yes, at three, Jack is a certified chocoholic.

So, armed with Easter candy, we told Jack he could earn a chocolate if he listened to his teachers without throwing a fuss or talking back. Every morning, we very specifically talk about how he can earn his chocolate. Well...we have now had 4 days in a row of positive reports from school. Even the director was surprised at how well he was responding to this. When he is starting to get a little out of control, she just reminds him gently that he has a chocolate to earn and he snaps right out of it. Hopefully, this method will also work when he is a teenager. Ha!