Brotherly (and sisterly) love - Heart Chart

From Kiwi Magazine, February/March 2010
Written by Traci Paige Johnson

This Valentine's Day (and throughout the year), jump-start sibling bonding by creating a "heart chart," which encourages kids to be kind to each other to earn rewards. At the end of each day, ask your kids these three questions:

* "Did you treat your brother (or sister) the way you would want to be treated?"
* "Did you use nice words to express yourself?"
* "Did you give your brother (or sister) a compliment or perform a good deed for him (or her) today?"

If the answer for every one is "yes," your kids earn a heart sticker on their calendar. Once they receive 10 hearts, they get to pick something special for you to do together as a family (see a movie, go bowling, get ice cream even though it's freezing outside - whatever they want). You can take this idea beyond siblings, too: See how nice your child can be to friends, classmates, even you! Kids will not only learn how to treat other people kindly, but they'll see how much more fun it is to be nice than it is to be mean.