Child Behavior Charts

Child behavior charts are important tools of child development, designed to inculcate positive behavior in young children, by coercing them to pursue the set goal. These charts are used by parents as well as teachers to monitor the child, and at the same time inculcate positive behavioral patterns in the child. There are various types of child behavior charts - some focusing on daily chores, while others focusing on specific actions. Doing homework, keeping the house clean, helping parents, not breaking the rules of the house, etc. are the positive behaviors. While, lying to anyone, indulging in an argument, fighting with siblings, not keeping things clean and tidy, etc. are the negative behaviors that can be included in the child behavior charts.

Free Child Behavior Chart

You can download free child behavior charts from one of the several websites dealing in child behavior. There is a wide range of printable child behavior charts available on the Internet. But if you don't want to purchase or download these charts, you can make a customized chart of your own. No one would know your child better than you, and therefore the child behavior charts prepared by you will be much more effective in inculcating good behavior in your child. You can either create child behavior charts on a simple table or prepare one on your personal computer using the spreadsheet. Below mentioned are some child behavior chart samples.

Sample Child Behavior Charts

Child Behavior Chart: Positive Behavior

Activity	Points	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday	Total
Making Bed	1
Breakfast	1
Going to School	1
Homework	2
Clean Room	1
Wash Dishes	1
Prepare for the Next Day	1
Follow all the Rules	2
Be Kind and Helpful	2
Sleep on Time	1

Child Behavior Chart: Negative Behavior

Activity	Points	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday	Total
Leaving a Mess	-1
Fighting	-2
Lying	-2
Arguing	-2
Complain from School/Neighbors	-3

The first column consists of the various activities, while the second column consists of points to be awarded for these activities. The next seven columns represent each day, and the last column is meant for the total. Suppose the child makes his bed daily without fail, at the end of the week he will be awarded 7 points i.e. (1 x 7), and if he is kind and helpful for 4 days in the week, he well be awarded 8 points i.e. (2 x 4) in the positive behavior chart. Similarly, in the negative behavior chart the points are to be subtracted from the particular days' scores. For example, if the child earns a grand total of 25 points, and then he is caught fighting, two points will be subtracted from his total, bringing it down to 23 points.

You can modify these child behavior charts according to your needs. For instance, you can replace preparation for the next day with getting prepared for the school on their own. Even the points given for each of the activities can be altered as per your opinion. The basic motive of the chart is to make the child realize the importance of simple day-to-day activities in a systematic manner. Lastly, you need to place the chart at such a place from where your child can monitor it daily. More importantly, you need to be particular, when it comes to filling the chart. Skipping a day or two will make the child lose interest, in the otherwise interesting child behavior modification activity.

Child Behavior Rewards and Penalties

One of the important steps to effective parenting, this exercise motivates the child to attain long term goals by staying focused on them. At the end of each week, you can tally the points obtained by the child and reward him for his efforts. These rewards can include anything that your child likes, ranging from a candy to a weekend outing. It's ideal to declare the reward well in advance. This will ensure that the child is focused and works throughout the week to get the reward. When it comes to older children, the rewards tend to get bigger and better, but along with these rewards a new concept is added to the exercise - penalties. The good behavior rewards for the older children may include staying out for relatively more time, a sci-fi movie or extra playtime, whereas the penalties for negative behavior may include less time to play or less time to watch the TV.

The concept of child behavior chart is highly successful, owing to the fact that instead of asking the children to change their behavior randomly, you provide them with an understandable goal to achieve. Not even the best of the child behavior charts can make your child change his behavior overnight. Like any other behavior modification tool, even child behavior charts will take a few weeks to make your child follow the right path, and therefore you need to be patient when using these charts.