How to Create a Sticker Chart to Reduce Night Time Wakings

Are you unsure whether your little one is waking up looking for you in the night because they are truly scared or because it’s become a habit? Do you know that your child is waking up and getting you purely out of habit, but unsure of what to do? Consider using a reward system. A reward system is otherwise known as a token system, sticker chart, reward chart, etc. A reward system helps you better determine whether your child is really afraid at night (the most common reason parents believe their child wakes up at night) or if their previous fear or bad dreams has resulted in a habit of getting out of bed rather than getting out of bed due to true fear. If your child is getting up purely out of habit, staying in bed with the use of a reward chart will help them build confidence and new healthy sleep habits.

As parents, we want to be there for our children if they are truly scared. I know that every time my own toddler has struggled with sleep I find myself trying to figure out whether he seems truly scared of something, and worrying about not providing the comfort he needs if he is. If we are using a reward system that our child is truly motivated by, it will help us in walking that fine line between comforting them when they need it and helping them maintain their independence and good sleep habits by letting them decide if they need to get out of bed, or if they’d rather stay in their room and earn a reward the next day.

It’s also important to note that even in a situation where a child IS afraid, a great way to get over that fear is to face it when they are capable, and then realize that they are safe and sound after all. Once a child starts to realize that they don’t have anything to be afraid of and that their bedroom is a safe place, they will feel less afraid and this will only help fear lessen.

There can be a lot creative expression in how you create a reward chart, and no “one size fits all”. I outlined some things that need to be considered in my article on using reward systems for bedtime routine here. These things apply to an overnight reward system too, and I suggest reading this over when creating your own. When creating your system, you want to decide which variation will be the best fit for your child and the most achievable. Because stickers charts are a common type of reward chart I’ll use that term, but you don’t have to use stickers!

Keep it simple. In many cases it is perfectly fine to keep it simple and either give a small treat or one sticker every day for just staying in bed all night. Little ones might be motivated by a sticker alone, but school-age kids might require an exchange for those stickers, like a small toy (think Matchbox car ®, L.O.L. Surprise Dolls ®), extra screen time, or treat. And it never hurts to have an exchange for stickers or tokens, even for younger kids! Try not to have them work for something large, since once they achieve earning it they might lose their motivation and it might be hard to find something as exciting to earn.

With younger children who have been struggling with sleep, make sure that they earn something after just a night or two of staying in bed initially. With many school age kids, you might start out by offering a reward more often, but then eventually move to a reward chart that requires a week of staying in bed all night every night.

Reward chart for waking multiple times in the night. With reward systems for overnights, it might help to be creative with how you give stickers. First figure out how many times your child is getting out of bed on average, across a few nights. For example, if it’s an average of three times per night, you might create a sticker chart where your child earns a sticker if they only get out of bed TWO times each night. Of course two times isn’t ideal either! But once you have some success with only getting out of bed two times per night, you can change it to a sticker earned for getting out of bed one time per night.

Sticker chart for multiple aspects of night time battles. Another way to use a sticker chart is by giving the option to earn multiple stickers in the night for different behaviors. For example, if you think your child might need to get out of bed to ger reassurance at times, you could give them the chance to earn one sticker for getting out of bed for a quick hug and then allowing themselves to be tucked back into bed. They could earn two stickers for getting out of bed for a quick hug, then walking back to bed themselves. They could earn three stickers for staying in bed all night. Of course, you’d adjust how many stickers are necessary to earn different rewards, or make stickers worth different amounts of rewards with a system like this.

A sticker chart with no stickers. Finally, you don’t have to use stickers! If you’d like to keep things even more simple, use a marble jar, poker chips, craft pom poms, or anything else that helps your child visualize and make the connection between their night time success and your recognition and reward of it.

One quick note on rewards versus bribes: as a BCBA, I find myself frequently clarifying the difference between rewards and bribes for parents. While the two may look similar, the difference comes down to timing. To use the example of sleep, a bribe would involve waiting until your child is awake and in your room in the night and then telling them they will earn a sticker if they go back to bed. When using a reward, you will be letting your little one know ahead of time that if they stay in bed, they will earn a reward. While a reward is clearly the preferred method, there are plenty of critics of the use of both bribery and rewards due to a supposed lack of “intrinsic motivation”. While I certainly don’t think that you should reward your child for staying in bed at night forever (nor do I think you will need to), my perspective is that the pros of a reward system for staying in bed at night far outweigh any potential cons, and that intrinsic motivation will develop on its own due to a natural desire to sleep well at night and learning to do so.

While reward charts are a positive and easy way to reduce night time struggles, children’s sleep is complex and there are often multiple issues causing sleep issues. I created a quick, free quiz to help parents find out why their child isn’t sleeping, and get a personalized suggested solution. Click below to take the quiz.