Responsibility Charts

Materials: Cardstock, Stickers

When B was about 15 months old, I needed some sort of incentive to get him to brush his teeth, get his clothes on, etc. without a battle. So I printed out a chart with his favorite characters on it and let him put a sticker on it after he completed his “job”. That chart would work for about a month and then I would print a new one and switch the characters or the stickers to keep his interest.

Now that B is two, I made a potty chart and a toothbrush chart so he can put one sticker on each image. This helps with his understanding of one to one correspondence. When the chart gets filled up, he gets to pick from the prize box (yours could be extra time outside, going to the park, lunch with dad, etc.). I started small so that he could reach his goal frequently and not get frustrated before he saw the big prize.

This is worth a try for anything you are trying to make easier on yourself as a parent. I’m sure there is a certain age where the excitement of a sticker wears off, but I haven’t reached it yet.