Behavior Chart - An Effective Way to Improve Your Child's Behavior

A couple of years ago, I was at home pregnant and exhausted trying to get my two young children to stay out of trouble. Just when I was at my wits end and ready to yell at my kids, an idea occurred to me. The behavior chart explained below, saved my sanity, and helps my family function in the best way possible. I hope you will find a way to adapt it into your home, so that your family can also reap the benefits.

Our "star chart" is on a dry erase board in our kitchen. Each child has their own section. The kids start with five stars.

When they act in a way that I find desirable, they receive a star. Some of the ways they acquire stars are doing chores and using good manners. My school-aged child also receives stars when he receives 100% on tests at school.

When they act inappropriately, I erase a star. The list of bad behaviors includes but is not limited to, not doing as asked, running in the house, and fighting.

If a child loses all of their stars, they lose a privilege, such as television, video games, or computer. I then start them over again with five stars.

When a child reaches fifteen stars, they can get a privilege back if they have lost one. If they have not previously lost a privilege, the child gets to choose an activity. Examples of activities that my children sometimes pick are a family game or Internet time on a kid-friendly site. The child then starts over at five stars again.

This behavior chart will work well for kids as young as two or as old as an early teen. When using with a young child, make sure that you take them with you to the chart, both when they are receiving and when they are losing stars. Explain the good or bad behavior to them each time and they will quickly catch on.

I have adjusted this behavior system several times over the years to get it to this point, which is what works best for my family. You may need to adjust it in some ways to make it work best for your children and family.

This system helps children to strive to act appropriately. It also helps the parents to praise the child, which we all know our children crave and need. It also helps parents to punish in an effective way, which does not resort to spanking. This system greatly reduces the amount of yelling that the parents do. As in all reward charts, they only work if parents stay consistent.