Copyright: KidLog Version 2.0 Copyright Rick Gonzalez 2000


Creating New Profiles

KidLog lets you create an individual profile for each child in your family or classroom.  Once a profile has been created, you can set up Action Stickers, Helping Items (chores) and Reward Coupons for each profile.  To create a profile, click on 'File' on the file menu bar and then click on 'New Child'.  An input window will appear prompting you for information about the child.  Fill in the information and click on 'OK' to create the new profile.


Selecting Profiles

Once you have created the new profile, you must make it the current profile by selecting 'File' again from the menu bar and then clicking on 'Select Child Profile'.  A list box of will appear including the new profile.  Double click on the profile name in the list box to activate it as the current profile. After selecting a profile, you can set up Action Stickers, Reward Coupons and Helping items.


Action Stickers

Action Stickers are icons that you can drag and drop from the Actions Window to the calendar.  Each Action Sticker might relate to a certain behavior or responsibility that your child is working on daily.  Each sticker has a point value (positive or negative) assigned to it that gets added to a total and ties into the KidLog reward system.

To setup Action Stickers, choose 'Tools' from the menu bar and then click on the 'Edit Action Stickers'.  The Action Sticker setup window will appear with six Action Tabs.

To add an action sticker, merely click on one of the images in the  selection box below the tabs.  Next, enter text that describes the action and a point value for the action.  You can set up six different Action Stickers.  When you click on the 'Apply' or 'Done' button, the Action Sticker appears in the Action Window to the left of the calendar.


Helping Items

Helping Items are displayed in the Helping window.  Each item that is set up represents a responsibility for the current child profile – these are his/her chores for the week.  Helping items fall into two categories; daily jobs and weekly jobs. At the end of each day, you can check these items off and add or subtract points to the child's total points.

Helping items are very similar to Action Stickers in the way that they are setup.

To setup Helping Items, choose 'Tools' from the menu bar and then click on the 'Edit Helping Items'.  The Helping setup window will appear with two sets of tabs; Daily jobs and weekly jobs.  To setup a job, click on one of the pictures in the box below the tab to set the sticker to represent the job.  Next, fill in the text boxes and add a point value. When you click on the 'Apply' or 'Done' button, the Helping Item appears in the Helping Window.


Reward Coupons

Reward coupons are printable windows that represent rewards you define.  Each reward has a cost associated with it.  When a child has earned enough points through either the Action Sticker or Helping Items, they can choose from a list of rewards and print out the reward coupon.

To setup reward coupons, click on 'Tools' from the men bar and then click on the 'Edit Rewards' menu option.  The reward setup window will appear with a set of 10 reward tabs.  Click on one of the icons in the image selection box below the tab strip.  When the icon appears on the tab, fill out the information including a small description of the reward and a cost for the reward (to be redeemed with points earned with Action Stickers and/or Helping Items).


Suggested Rewards

Rewards can be anything your family feels is fit for your child.  A little creative thought produces great rewards that are cost free and meaningful to your child.  Some ideas might include: Special time with Mom/Dad , Remote-control control for one night, Stay up ½ hour, passed bed time/ curfew, Special Trip, Item pick at the grocery store (cookies very popular – cereal running a close second), Computer time……

The idea is to let your child have something that is hard to get so that it valuable to him/her.  There are many things in a child's life that they are always asking for – these are the great rewards if used moderately.


Security

Even though you have great kids, George Washington might be tempted to boost his points given the opportunity. We have added the capability to set a parental password on KidLog so that your kids can't alter their profile while you're away.

To setup a password, click on 'Security' from the menu bar and then security options.  This will bring up the security options window.  You must check (click on) the checkbox that says 'Use Security' in order to enable the security features.  Once you have clicked on the check box, enter in a password that you will remember, then enter it again in the confirm password box. After you have done this, the next time you begin using KidLog, the password goes into affect.

You may also change your password if you want to by entering in your old password on the security options window and then entering and confirming a new password.


About the Calendar

The calendar is a great place to work on several

concepts with your child.  Using the calendar can

help you child with valuable organizational skills

as well as helping them to visualize their behavior

over a period of time.  Children learn what is

expected of them and see the results of their

behavior in a familiar paradigm.


Key Features
Key Features - Calendar

The Calendar has a few key features that you

will want to be familiar with.  First, the calendar

days are the recipient of two types of drag and drop

stickers; The Action Stickers  and the Event Stickers.

Up to six Action Stickers can be dragged from

the Action Window to each day on the calendar.

In addition, one Event sticker can be dragged from

the Event Window to each day to represent special

events like birthdays or vacations. The calendar

keeps these stickers in a file for the entire life of

the child profile so that you may review your child's

progress over time.

Action Stickers

Creating New Profiles

Reward Coupons


About the Journal

The journal provided in KidLog is a great way for you to encourage your child to talk about events in their day, their thoughts, and their feelings. Older children might enter items in the journal themselves while younger children would benefit greatly from the opportunity to sit on a parent's lap and communicate what they want to put into the journal.


Key Features
Key Features - Journal

Each child profile has its own journal file (\kidlog\profile_name.rtf). You can edit this file using Microsoft Word if you so desire.  Each day that KidLog is started, a new entry heading is created for you.  You may mix fonts, change text color and size, as well as inserting graphics and sounds from Windows File Manager. To insert pictures (pictures include .BMP files only) and sounds, merely drag them from their directories in the Windows File Manager to the desired location in the journal. Remember to click on 'Save' on the menu bar or the 'disk' icon to save your journal entries.

Creating New Profiles


About Helping

KidLog keeps a list of Helping Items

for each child profile.  The Helping window

teaches children about responsibility and

builds self worth as children "check-off" their

accomplishments.  We titled this section of

KidLog Helping because children need to know

that they are contributing to the running of your

home and not just doing labor for the sake of labor.

The benefits of being responsible and

accountable for ones actions will stay with

your child if practiced.


Key Features
Key Features - Helping

The features of Helping are quite simple.

You set up the daily and weekly Helping Items

 that your child is responsible for and

then click on the box for that item to produce

a check mark that day.  You can erase a child's

 check marks at any time by clicking on the

 'Clear All' button in the lower right hand corner

 of the Helping Window.

Reward Coupons

Suggested Rewards


About KidLog Online

KidLog Online is a dynamic internet site that will bring you product support and practical parenting information.  To use these features, you must be connected to the internet with an online account.  The interface to KidLog Online uses features of Microsoft's Internet Explorer but does not replace your current default browser.  The 'Parent Links' button will launch Internet Explorer and will ask you if you want to make Internet Explorer your default browser. If you are an avid Netscape fan just click no and your browser won't be changed (although you will still use IE for the parent links – go figure.)


KidLog Contents
Contents

Getting Started

Creating New Profiles

Selecting Profiles

Action Stickers

Helping Items

Reward Coupons

Suggested Rewards

Security

The Calendar

About the Calendar

Key Features

The Journal

About the Journal

Key Features

Helping

About Helping

Key Features

Family Meeting

About Meetings

Key Features

KidLog Online

About KidLog Online


About Meetings

The family meeting is a wonderful way for you to touch base with your family.

Meetings help families resolve issues and establish ground rules for family

interaction.

This section of KidLog can provide your family with a format to conduct a

family meeting. Each folder is designed to hold a list of things that have

been talked about durring your family meetings.  You can add new items to the lists or take old ones off.  The lists should start some good communication - there's really no right/wrong way of using them.

The log at the bottom of the page is meant to keep a brief account of what

was talked about durring the meeting.  It can be a fun record of the changing

state of your family affairs.


Key Features
Family Meeting Key Features

The Family meeting interface allows you to set up individual file tabs for elements that might be discussed in a family meeting.  The text box at the bottom of the screen allows you to keep a running record of the events and feelings that occurred during your meetings.

There is a suggestion button that is just meant to give your family ideas.  Of course you will have your own values , rules , goals and so on.  To add a Value to your values tab, just click on the add button at the bottom of the tab and you will be prompted for a text description.  If you wish to use one of the suggestions simply click on the the suggested item and then click add.  The choices you make on each tab will be saved automatically.