Download: Parent-Child Behavior Contracts

A parent-child behavior contract can be helpful for kids with learning and attention issues who have trouble with things like frustration, self-control and lying. The best contracts include steps you and your child will take to help replace an inappropriate behavior with a more appropriate one. The contracts can also help you have an ongoing conversation about behavior.

The key to building a successful behavior contract is getting your child’s input. Helping shape the contract will make your child more likely to stick with it. And remember that you need to stick with it, too.

Start by working together to focus the contract on just a few behaviors. (Having too many goals at once can be overwhelming.) Ask your child to help develop rewards for meeting a goal and consequences for not meeting it.

The sample behavior contracts can give you ideas on how to tailor a contract for kids of different ages. The blank contract is for when you’re ready to start tailoring things for your child.

For more information on how to develop goals, rewards and consequences, check out how schools use behavior contracts to reinforce positive behavior.