Featured Editorial

Take Your Kids from Chaos to Consistency

Are there any frazzled parents in the house?  According to Erikson's psychosocial stages of development, the Ego Identity vs. Role Confusion stage that our tween is currently juggling is a test of our endurance.  To say that Middle School has been an eventful year for our household would be a horrendous understatement.


Let me start by saying that we have bragging rights to a teen daughter away for her Freshman year at college, a busy toddler learning by playing and imitating, yeah and our tween, in between it all.  He's in between the teenager and the toddler,  in between his childhood and his teenage years, in between playing and maturing and he's doing his best to enjoy the best of both worlds. Our tween's chaotic state has been a swirling, twirling polar vortex fueled mass of incessant snow days (I almost thought we were homeschoolers), a science fair project, trombone lessons, the eternally forgotten trombone, Minecraft play dates, The LEGO Movie countdown, a county-wide ensemble music performance, a post-apocalyptic bedroom and then the second notice missing assignment progress report arrived.   Hold up, wait a minute!  Hadn't we sent this sternly scolded kid to school with the "Fix It Today!" memo emblazoned on his brain?  Weren't we using both direct and overt questioning tactics to verify completion?  Weren't we incredibly naive?



We pride ourselves on being clever and resourceful parents, however the gaping loophole in the whole chaotic episode was our failure to actively and consistently follow through.  Well, moving forward and moving on, we have gotten our tween On Track!  We are getting him on track and implementing the On Track! Responsibility and Behavior System by Kenson Parenting Solutions.  With an 11 year-old, the days of the happy face, straight face and sad face charts have long passed.  Honestly, an earned allowance system didn't seem to work for us, somehow he ended up needing to pay us his allowance, go figure.  We tried every trick of the trade from tiger parenting to minimalist parenting and all the while, we were getting nowhere fast.  With a swift, stealth quickness, the On Track! Responsibility and Behavior System was unceremoniously affixed to the portal to our tween's post-apocalyptic bedroom.  We were ready to make a change.

Why are we so geared up about the On Track! Responsibility and Behavior System?  First and foremost, included in the system is a step-by-step instructional guide that offers guidance and assistance to implementing the system with your family.  The goal of utilizing this system with your tween is to foster the development of independence through the establishment and/or reinforcement of responsibility and structure on a consistent basis. The six key areas the system is developed to address with your tween are:
  1. Responsibility
  2. Accountability
  3. Increased Self Esteem
  4. Improved Organizational Skills
  5. Positive Behaviors
  6. Money Management
Have you ever happened to meet a tween that might need a little extra attention to any of these areas?  Stay with me!  Let's get to the good stuff, you're gonna love this.  The Deluxe On Track! Responsibility and Behavior System is recommended for use with children 8 years old and up.  The elaborate system incorporates your child in the establishment of Family Rules, a Master Chore List, the Daily Checklist, deciding on your point value system and setting up your register to record points earned toward their incentive reward.  What's best is that there is no longer the need for me to continually repeat the rules, expectations and consequences.  Everything is fairly discussed, clearly written and mutually agreed upon as a family.


The Deluxe On Track! Responsibility and Behavior System includes:
1 Canvas Organizational Caddy
2 Point/Allowance Registers
2 Dry Erase Markers
2 Dry Erase Daily Checklists
1 Dry Erase Family Rules Sign
1 Dry Erase Master Chore List
1 Step by Step Instructional Guide
1 Reproducible Behavior Contract
1 Reproducible Family Rules Worksheet
1 Reproducible Behavioral Self Assessment
1 Reproducible Self Reflection Sheet

*The regular On Track! responsibility and Behavior System does not include the canvas organizational caddy.


While our teenager is largely responsible for keeping herself on track at this point, our toddler is at the perfect age for starting off with the Kenson Kids "I Can Do It!" Reward Chart. Toddlers live for praise and rewards. Our son was just a week away from his third birthday when we introduced the "I Can Do It!" Reward Chart to him. After taking the time to customize our chart to his particular accomplishments we will reward with positive reinforcement, we demonstrated ways in which he can earn a star to place on his chart. We placed his chart on the wall at his eye level and he takes delight in counting his stars and reciting his accomplishments. his favorite task is " Go To Bed and Stay in Bed". The "I Can Do It!" Reward Chart is great for use with children from 3 - 10 years-old. The chart can be personalized to your child's needs and grows as your child grows. I find the "I Can Do It!" Reward Chart and the Kenson Kids products are all made in the USA and durably designed to last for years, definitely a worthwhile investment in your child's character development as you take your kids from chaos to consistency.

The "I Can Do It!" Reward Chart includes:

*20 different, colorful chores and behaviors
*strong magnetic strips to hold it securely to any metal surface.
*sturdy plastic stars and chores attach easily with Velcro coins.
*Colorful pictures help young children in understanding the tasks.
*Additional supplemental chore and behavior packs are available.

How can Kenson Parenting Solutions help you to take your kids from chaos to consistency?

I have received an On Track! Responsibility and Behavior System and an "I Can Do It!" Reward Chart for the purpose of completing this review. As the owner of this blog, niecyisms' Creative Learning, I am compensated to provide my opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though, as the writer/owner of this blog receiving compensation for posts or advertisements, I will always give my honest opinions, findings, beliefs or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely my own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.


Comments

  1. My youngest daughter strive with consistency and order, she's just not naturally consistent or orderly. And I'm not creative enough to come up with something on my own to help her.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Stephanie! My son is struggling with organization and we tried to see if he would mature and the situation would resolve itself. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. The On Track! System has been so helpful in clearly and consistently showing him exactly what needs to be done and when it should be done. All The Best! niecyisms :)

      Delete
  2. Adding some consistency to a 5 year old and a 1 1/2 year old would help a lot.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jocelyn! I really agree with you, consistency makes such a difference in helping to get kids as young as your 1 1/2 year old to become more independent. All The Best! niecyisms :)

      Delete
  3. My 3 1/2 year old has been giving me a run for my money recently. I think a new reward system could really spice things up around here and increase her motivation and my energy and patience!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Lori!
      I can relate to your situation, I have a 3 year old and the chart is helping so much with establishing positive behavior patterns. All The Best! niecyisms :)

      Delete

Post a Comment

Tell Me What You Think!