Responsibility Chart

We have been working on responsibility in our home recently. I found this great Responsibility Chart at Train Up A Child last week, & it has been working wonders with Lincoln. If he does a certain chore or responsibility, he gets a "sticker" (as he calls it, but it's really a magnet) that goes on "Lincoln's Chart". The first thing we did that pertained to the chart was getting himself dressed. Lincoln has never wanted to try dressing himself. He has always said, "I can't do it, I just can't do it." He would get so frustrated with himself if he put both feet in the same pant hole, or if he put his arm through the neck hole of the shirt. I sat down with him & explained the whole magnet/sticker chart concept. While I sat down, I gave him his big boy pants, his shorts, & a pair of socks. I took the same items & pretended to put them on myself, simply to show him how to step into the shorts, how to put the socks on correctly, etc. He stared at me while I did it, focusing intently on how I did it, & I could tell he was concentrating very hard. I said, "OK, your turn." He immediately said, "I'm gonna try, Momma. I'll try." He took his big boy pants, & slipped each foot into the correct hole, stood up & pulled them up! What a victory! The same thing happened with his shorts & then with his socks. The socks took a little extra time for obvious reasons, but nevertheless, they went on successfully! I about let the whole neighborhood know by the volume of my hollering & whooping from my excitement. He immediately jumped up & said, "A sticker! On my chart!" We ran down the stairs, both so happy about what had just transpired. He chose a magnet, & we put it on the correct day & that was that. He was triumphant, so proud of himself. It was a very sweet & important moment where I thought, "This will work. This created positive results. He truly understands this concept." As a mom, I'm constantly in a trial-and-error frame of mind. With this chart, I felt a huge sense of relief, like "Ok, this trial was not an error; it was a success." It was a barrier that was crossed by Lincoln with understanding & excitement.

The past several days, Lincoln has earned 14 other magnets for doing things such as clearing his plate from the table, putting his clothes in the laundry, apologizing for something he did wrong, or showing respect for others' belongings. This morning he got his 15th magnet. 15 is our magic number. Once he gets 15 magnets, he gets to choose a toy he wants to buy. He told me he wants to go back to Train Up A Child & choose a new train for his train set. We're both excited for this.

Here's a couple more pictures of the chart & the proud boy:




That's all for now!
Go be responsible people,