Smiley Faces

I never thought I’d be setting up a responsibility chart for a 3-year-old.  I’m glad I did though because it’s WORKING!  There’s no better reward for good behavior than a nice, colorful smiley face.  :-)

We picked up a “My Magnetic Responsibility Chart” at Barnes & Noble for Alyssa for Christmas.  It’s for ages 3+ and contains age-appropriate responsibilities for children of all ages.  You should see the excitement as we go through each responsibility:  Get Dressed, Brush Teeth, Show Respect (listening to mommy and daddy), Put Away Toys, Get Ready for Bed (in a timely manner), Stop Whining, and Say Please and Thank You.  Every evening, we discuss each one and reward smiley faces for those that were done well.  For those that weren’t, we discuss why she’s not getting a smiley face and talk about how we can do things differently to get a smiley face the next day.

So far, so good!  One night, she didn’t get smiley face for picking up her toys because her playroom was a mess.  She looked at me and said, “Hold on a minute!”  Then, she picked up all of her toys and said, “See, I get a smiley face.”

She really seems to understand when she’s not listening or had a meltdown.  We talk about those things and she’s even said sorry a few times all on her own.  I really like this chart and recommend it to other parents with 3-year-olds.  It comes with lots of responsibilities so that you can change them out for what they need to work on at the time.  You can even customize your own for those bad habits you’re trying to break.

I placed our chart up high above her toy box where she can’t reach it.  One day, she decided to climb up and fill in all the smiley faces on the entire chart.  She even made sure each day had a different color!  She called me in to take a look and said, “See, I got all my happy faces!”  It caught me so off guard that I busted laughing.

Since we’ve started using the chart, I’m amazed how she voluntarily dresses herself and brushes her teeth.  She’s exerting her independence and building self-confidence.  Additionally, we’re successfully working on the behaviors that we’re trying to improve.  I love it!