Tired of focusing on your kids when they are making poor choices? This is a tool that I've used at work with kids living in a residential facility that works great at home with my kids as well. We developed a sticker chart and each child picks a few goals to work towards. For example, my 7 year old step son has a hard time expressing feelings so his goal is simple- to express anger in a healthy way, which we identified ways to do so. For my 4 year old one of her goals is not to harass the dog and to talk to people when they hurt her feelings. For my 7 year old son one goal is to get ready for school on time in the AM.

When dad or I observe the kids working towards their goals or ANY positive behavior we want to enforce, they get to pick out a sticker to put on a square of their chart. Once they recieve 7 stickers (filling up a whole row) they get to pick a prize from a "prize box". These are things that I've picked up at sales or the dollar store along the way. Once they fill up their whole chart than they get to pick out a family activity for us to all do together such as Chuckie Cheese, a movie, etc. They receive stickers for remembering to say "excuse me" when adults are talking, sharing, or following directions without whining. The kids have started noticing that we notice positive behavior and ignore the negative. It works!