Charts!

I forgot to mention in my most recent Nigel update that we've implemented a new nightly ritual: The behavior chart! PaPa and Grandma McDonald gave Nigel a magnetic behavior/responsibility chart similar to this one for Christmas. We started using it a month ago because I was so tired of listening to whining (that's one of the things on the chart). Also, Nigel was doing really well with the potty (he's essentially been potty trained since Christmas), but I noticed that most of the time he wasn't tell me when he had to go; he was doing well because I was still making him go every 2 hours or so.

So, each night before we go to bed we go over the chart. Nigel gets a little magnet for each category that he does well with throughout the day. There are many categories to choose from, but we have about 8 out now, including asking to go to the potty, feeding the dog, attempting to put his clothes on and take them off, cleaning up his room, not whining, and saying please and thank you. There are some categories that he always gets a magnet for (he's pretty stellar at saying please and thank you, and as soon as he rolls out of bed he feeds the dog), but not so much with others (whining comes to mind). As an added incentive, if we haven't had to ask him all day about the bathroom (ie, he has told us each time he needs to go), then he gets a special potty treat at the end of the day. The treats are usually a yogurt-covered pretzel or a tiny star cookie from Central Market's bulk bin section. So far, so good. Anyone else have a chart system in place for their kiddo?