#todderlife

I know when people say this it makes it sound as though your child is this hideously behaved little person. This is exactly what I thought when I said to my partner that we needed to try something different for our 2.5 year old who we know is messing around or acting up partly to do with her age and partly due to the fact of a recent sibling arrival. (Whom she adores btw).

So I stumbled across an article on reward charts and how they can be a positive idea. For example they mentioned having a clear goal to work towards and to not make it outrageous to achieve.

Ruby is a very visual child and seems to enjoy getting shiny stickers. We did this when potty training and she responded so well I was amazed. So I said to my partner why not try it for this. My mum gave us some smiley faces and shiny stars and I took Ruby to the shop to select what she would like to receive for collecting 5 shiny bedtime stars (this is the main trouble we seem to have at the minute.) We love patting and laying next to her as she drifts off and are happy to do it but when kicking and screaming is involved it's a nono.

So far 2 nights in a row (even though she did try and test me but hey we've only just started they won't be good 100% of time who is). She has gone to bed after Pjs and a story with minimal fuss because she wants to add a shiny star to her bed in the morning.

She was so proud saying look mummy 2 stars now. I get my Peppa pig light soon. I tell Lydia and holly at nursery.

I know a lot of people will disagree with this and I would usually but every child is different and parenting does not come with a book you got to figure it out yourself.