Coin Chart Update

We have been using our Coin Chart for only a few weeks now and got to our first prize relatively quickly (one day without a sticker) with some extra chances to earn back coins on the rough days.  Today I sit here amazed at the progress my toddler has made in such a short time span.  It is a rare day now that I feel overwhelmed by a strong-willed, independent girl who is trying to establish dominance in the house.  The desire to establish control over her area is definitely inherited (*sigh* from me).  It is a requirement for both her and myself in our personalities to feel like we have control over our lives to feel safe.  Having a two year old in complete control however isn't a safe option either.  This method has given her the control she craves and myself the ability to give her more control but still set boundaries that a toddler needs for real safety.

One of my biggest stubborn controls were over the movies that are accessible to her because they are her movies.  She would drag them out with her feet off the shelf and scatter them around the room without a care for tripping, slipping or breaking the movies either.  This was not okay even more so because she would do this strictly as a rebellion (staring straight at me to make sure I saw her do it).  It would always result in either a power struggle or Momma picking them up while Alyssa sat in a time out.  There were no solutions that I could find myself.  Less than a week into the Coins and she dumped her movies again.  I only had to tell her that either she picked up her movies or Momma will pick them up and she would have to give me a coin for it.  Movies now sit on the shelf and if she tips them over (they are on a lower TV stand shelf) without thinking about it she apologizes and fixes it herself!  This is crazy progress in my opinion.

I love this method and have already introduced it to other parents I have met/know.  We are four stickers away from goal/prize #2 and Alyssa is very excited to count the empty squares she needs to fill before getting a prize.  (The counting abilities in my two year old has improved like crazy with this motivated learning too!  Can we say "side perk"?!)