Responsibility Checklists

Tip: We recommend you include your children in these discussions. Members tell us that clarifying what they're looking for from their children, as well as having the children "buy in" is one of the most important parts of the process.

Opening the Checklist

There are 2 ways to open a child's Checklist.

1) Click on the Checklist icon below your child's picture.

2) If you have more than 1 child, select that child from the Checklist dropdown menu at the top of your screen.

Checklist Name and Start day

1) Click on the Edit icon if you'd like to change the name of the Checklist

2) Choose the Start Day - the day you'd like to start your week (you can always change your mind at a future date)

Selecting the "Active" Checklist or creating a new one

You can create multiple checklists for a child. For example, you might have a different set of responsibilitites in the summer, or perhaps over the holidays.

The "Active" Checklist is the one that you've selected. Its name will show up in the dropdown window as well as at the top center of the page.

If you click on "New", you'll be given a choice of copying an existing checklist or starting from a blank page.

Responsibility Categories and Items

The page is grouped into:

1) Responsibility Categories, each containing

2) Responsibility items.

Add, Delete, rename or Move Checklist Categories

1) Add New Category - add additional Checklist Categories

2) Delete, Edit, or Move Up/Down any Category with the tools on the left (don't forget to Save your changes!)

You can also drag and drop the entire category to another spot on the page.

Add, Delete, rename or Move Checklist Items

Tailor the list to the needs of the child and your family by:

1) clicking the Edit and Delete icons, or change the order with the Move up/down icon

2) Add Checklist Items by clicking on the "+" sign beside the Responsibility Category name

You can also drag and drop an item to another spot within the category.

Points for each category

At the bottom of each Checklist Category is a Points total. Some parents like to change this total for some categories to:

a) reflect its relative importance (eg perhaps more for homework), while others prefer to keep it simple and leave them all the same, or

b) create "Must-do" categories that have zero points. If these are not done, there are may be non-allowance consequences.

If you wish to adjust this total, click on the +/- buttons on the left.

Important Notes:

1) Points are only allocated for those days where there is at least one item in the category.

2) The point total is for completion of all the items in that Category, no matter how many there might be that day. This enables you to avoid having to figure out how (eg) "brushing teeth" compares in value to "walking the dog".

If you prefer, an important item can have its own category.

In the top right corner of the Checklist, you'll see the Regular Points total for the week. This is simply the sum of the points from all Responsibility Categories (not including the Bonus section).

If your child achieves the weekly total, then she gets 100% of her allowance.

Bonuses

The bottom section of the Checklists page is for Bonus items. These items are not included in the regular point total, and will give your child an opportunity to earn more than 100% of allowance, or perhaps make up for missing one of her regular items.

You can make a Bonus item worth whatever you'd like (eg. "1 point for every day early in a school project")

Note for "de-linked" families

If you've chosen to de-link Responsibilities and Allowances, the points total has no affect on her allowance. You can access this option by clicking the Setup icon for each child.

Step 6 - Decorate and Print

You can decorate the Checklist with these controls:

1) Select an Icon for each Responsibility Category

2) Select a Background pattern and Colors for the Checklist

Note: Your child also has access to these Decorate and Print controls from her login. Many parents delegate the responsibility for printing next week's Checklist to their children. Some evn add it as an item to the Responsibilities Checklist.

Cool Print vs Simple Print

The decorated version will show up if you use Cool Print. A more basic, black and white version of the Checklist will print if you use Simple Print.