perfect kid chart

Part of Andrew's bedtime routine includes me laying with him, usually until he falls asleep. I tried changing this routine a while ago but it was more trouble than it was worth - instead of taking 15 minutes to fall asleep, it was taking an hour or more. Unfortunately for all of us, it's time to put a stop to it.

In an effort to get him excited, we thought we'd have him work toward earning a new Leapster game. He, however, got more excited about being able to pick out a toy, so we made that the reward if he goes to bed on his own 7 times. We still want to get him the new game though (it's our guilt gift for making him commute to work with me...) so we decided to also reward other good behavior and have the game be the reward for it.

His goals are mainly things that he should be doing at his age with an emphasis on a few things that drive us a little crazy. I'm no dummy! :)

He gets 'golden stars' for the following:

1. Going to the bathroom when he needs to without me making him go. (drives me nuts!)
2. Getting dressed on his own (he tends to put it off and I end up helping to move it along)
3. Going to bed without arguing, asking for another show, etc (this drives Matt nuts)
4. Putting his dishes in the sink without being reminded
5. Other: being responsible for his things, using his manners, etc

Like I said, it's mainly a way for us to be able to get him the video game without just getting it for no reason. At least this helps him work on being a big kid, right? Seems like a win-win to us!

Tonight will be the 3rd night. The first night he did great; last night he just wasn't interested. Hopefully we'll be back on track tonight, although I expect it to be a bit tough - that's why we had to make the reward something he'd be excited about. Wish us luck!