It
can be fun for children to create a “success chart” by designing a bar graph or
a line graph to show progress on various tasks.
Be
sure to keep the goals realistic. You might want to coordinate the plan with
your child’s teacher, factoring in school effort or improvement.
Start
out with small goals so your child can gain some positive momentum that can
lead to larger successes. Talk with your child to increase their understanding
and buy-in.
Building
in incentives can be an important part of this activity.
Figure
out what types of items work best in your family.
Rewards
like a family activity, movie, or a computer game rental might be the right way
to go.
Monetary
rewards for reaching a goal might be appropriate if children learn to save it
for something they really want, or use it to support an important cause.
Though
positive reinforcement is an effective tool in changing behavior, everyone
reacts differently. What is right for one child might not work well for
another, so work with each child individually.
Allowing
your children to chart their own progress is a great way for them to see and
experience results.
And
seeing improvement in such a graphic fashion can show them that their efforts
do actually pay off. The hope is that they will see that hard work yields
graphic results.
