Otherwise he'll work the system and will run to the potty every half-hour and sit for a few minutes just to get another cookie or toy. These can help you and your child keep track of successes. You may want to place a check or a sticker on the chart every time your child accomplishes a task within his usual range of behavior. Otherwise, if the task is too challenging, the chart may have so many empty spaces that he gives up. For example, if your child usually makes it to the potty but has a few accidents every day, you could put a small star in the day's box for each time he gets to the potty in time and a big sticker for an accident-free day.
Some parents use a chart to show a child's progress over time.
There may be a special reward, for example, for seven accident-free days. Longer-term goals are fine if you combine them with a way to recognize daily successes. Most young children can't stay motivated toward a reward that is days or weeks away. Asking your child to promise to use the potty doesn't work well, however. It's useless to ask a young child to stick to a promise in exchange for something he wants immediately.