I expressed my thoughts to them-- how I love seeing them working together and how I couldn't wait until my daughter was old enough for stickers. The mom replied with a laugh and an "oh, just wait" type of answer.
And now I know why.
Stickers are the devil.
But, stickers are also the best thing ever. Booger L.O.V.E.S. stickers, even if she doesnt really use them right. She's not so much into placing stickers into a correct spot than she is just putting them onto paper wherever her fingers land. Usually all in one pile.
Exhibit A:
When we took a trip to WI last month, we bought her a new pad of stickers, Frozen themed of course. I kept the book up with me, and when she asked for some, I only gave her 1 sheet at a time, in order for them to last the whole 4-5 hour car ride each way.
This is what happened to those stickers:
She also found a love of stickers for her slide...
But anyway, to my point. Stickers are great for other reasons-- we have successfully used sticker charts for both potty training and changing to her toddler bed. How?
For potty training, we printed out a little game like maze. Every time she went on the potty, she got a sticker. After a certain amount of stickers, there were prizes (a cookie, a toy, a milkshake, etc). Once the game was done, stickers were done as well. Now, that didnt mean she was completely potty trained at the time, but it worked for long enough (a few days) for her to get the point of potty training. Going #2 on the potty took another few months to master, and a few more milkshake bribes.
Before we potty trained her, we also converted her crib into a toddler bed by removing the front railing. I was petrified of doing this because I had heard all the horror stories of kids waking up at 5am and jumping into bed with mom and dad, or going downstairs, or playing in their room. Booger can open all the doors in our house (except the ones that lead outside, thankfully), so I knew we would be doomed if she knew she could get out.
A few days before removing the side, we started telling her she would be sleeping in a big girl bed. Every time we talked about it (usually while rocking in the chair before nap or bed), we would always say "Now, in your big girl bed, you have to stay in bed until mama or dada come and get you. You can't get out until we come get you." I mean, we DRILLED this into her brain, having her repeat it over and over for us.
So when the big day came, I removed the side and repeated it again and again. Then, together, we went to make a sticker chart. For every time she successfully stayed in bed until we got her, she got a sticker. At the end of week 1, she got a treat. End of week 2 she got a book, then a toy, then a special outing (to see Dory- which coincided with her yay! you're officially pretty much potty trained outing).
I'm telling you, this girl will do ANYTHING for a sticker. Shes been in her big girl bed for almost 4 months, and has only gotten out once-- randomly a few weeks ago she left after a nap to go potty... I found her in the hallway. It was weird and scared the crap out of me.
But that was it. Not one other time has she left her room. She'll hang out in her bed talking to her stuffed animal for a while before I realize shes awake from a nap.
Our newest sticker chart is for Good Behavior. We've fully entered the Terrible Twos, and are bordering the Threenager stage. Lots of "leave me alone" and "go away" and "no!" and other mean phrases. I'm trying to encourage more nice words, nice hands (no hitting), more please and thank you's, etc. I'm hoping a sticker chart will help... but the first day brought nothing, unfortunately. Today has been a bit better, but still might take some convincing on her part.
She gets stickers for good behavior, whether its spontaneous on her part (Husband asked me to get him a bottle of water yesterday, and she took it upon herself to take my bottle, bring it to the bathroom and fill it up just for him, So considerate!), whether its asked for- aka do this the nice way and get a sticker, or whether its a random act of kindness. She can also get stickers taken away for bad behavior.
Today at nap time, I told her that if she got into bed without jumping, screaming, yelling, flipping around etc, she could have TWO stickers. Going down for a nap has been quite the challenge here lately. Unfortunately, we not only did not get two stickers, we had a time out before falling asleep. I'm hoping the stickers have more power over her and she's not losing interest in them yet!
(Oh, by the way, she almost asked for the time out so she could use her glitter bottle! She finally came around and likes using it now!)
Do your kids love stickers? Do they use them the right way or just love to peel and stick? Have you had success with sticker charts?
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