how to get started with the
fisherkids responsibility station
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introducing the station to your family
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Before you receive the responsibility station, it's important to let your family know WHY you ordered it. We designed our station to engage children, so it's crucial that you let your child know why (s)he is about to embark upon a journey of (cue the eye roll and sigh of desperation/ exasperation) learning to live responsibly.
 How do you do this? What do you say? Well, that's up to you, but I can tell you what we say to our children. We are constantly talking to our children about working as a family team. We let them know that our job as their parents is to teach them what they need to know to live on their own one day. It works, I promise. It might take a while, but showing your children you respect them as valuable members of the family goes a long way. Children can understand more than we give them credit for understanding; talk to them with mutual respect as you introduce the station. Please don't get me wrong; you are still the boss, applesauce. But when it comes to change in the family, mutual respect goes a long way.
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assembling the station in your home
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First, let me explain why we chose to use metal pegboard as our base for the responsibility station. We found that all the chore charts we used were inevitably stuck in a drawer: out of sight, out of mind. So we wanted something that we can commit to by placing in our home so that we are aware of it, aware of being a family team. I am personally sick of plastic stuff, and shiny metal appeals to kids whether little or teens (don't you remember the thousands of dollars spent on plastic toys when our kids were babies and instead they migrated mindlessly to the pots and pans and wooden spoons?). Now that we had a substrate, we further refined the product to be a system that includes everything: the chores, the "piggy bank" and the accessories. This was so much better for engagement, follow-through, and accountability versus having everything in different parts of our house.
 Assembly is super easy. Simply drill it straight into the wall using the holes in the four corners of the board. If you are drilling into sheetrock, please use anchors.
In the Parent's Guide (click here to download the guide), there are pictures of the initial set up. However, this is simply a guide. One of the reasons we used a pegboard as our station substrate is to allow your children the creative freedom to rearrange! This also allows you to add accessories as you go: nameplates, checklists, goal setters, spinners, etc.
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setting up the responsibility magnet
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Obviously, the day of the week is self-explanatory. We want you to be able to pick the day of the week that is best for your family time/pay day.
The daily deeds are the responsibilities you want your child to complete each day. These are the things that teach the value of the family; how the family has more time to spend together if we are all helping each other out. You can also put habits on here you would like to establish with your child: exercise and nutrition habits, potty training, behavioral habits, etc. We are often asked for examples, but again, I will tell you what we do in the Beck household. We have responsibilities like: make bed; take out trash; clean up after Rocky McFabulous (our dog); feed and walk Rocky; our girls do their own laundry (with privilege come responsibility) and Henry brings his downstairs; in the summer, each child cooks dinner one night (always a hoot to see what they come up with); etc.
The daily chores section is one of two things: either the number of chore sticks to choose from the bucket OR you can write the chores right on the magnet. The latter works well for older kids who may not want to choose a popsicle stick from a bucket :)
The chore sticks are printed with "thank you" on one end (back to the mutual respect issue) and blank on the other end so that you can fill out the chores that are age-appropriate/household-appropriate. Our Parent Guide offers some examples, but please remember that teaching responsibility is not the same thing as teaching how to clean! There are many many more responsibilities that independent living requires other than cleaning (although a clean home is very important!), such as keeping a safe home (batteries in fire alarms, air filters, light bulbs, etc), keeping a healthy home (proper menu planning, grocery shopping, packing healthy lunches, etc), or taking pride in your home/car. Go through your weekly/monthly routine and see what things your child might not know how to do and teach! Keep it age appropriate, please!
Finally, the commission section is up to you and your family. Keep in mind that commission should be motivating, so too little or too much is not going to be successful in the long run. Let your child know from the very beginning that you are going to try to find what works and you may have to change it up a bit (so start low....no one wants a pay cut!).
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check them out!
We have 11 video blogs available to answer frequently asked questions. We add them as we can (we were hoping for one a week, but alas, nobody's perfect!). You can access the videos on our You Tube channel or just click here! |
please share! Watch our intro video if you haven't already done so! It's a brief overview of how to use the responsibility station, why we developed it, and a brief introduction to one of my best friends ever....Nana. She's hysterical and I love all 92 years of her. You can access all of our videos on our You Tube channel or just click here! |
boredom busters
We love having our children around us 24/7 don't we? Don't we? Actually we do, but the ubiquitous whine of children across America, "MOM! I'm BOOOOOOORED!" makes us want to pull our gray hairs out.
Our daughter Claire came up with the Boredom Spinner, which hangs right on the responsibility station. She remembers the time when they were very young and the girls came out telling us they were bored. I think in their sweet youthful minds (read: no frontal lobe capacity for logic or reasoning) they thought I was going to say, "Well, then! Off to Disney World we go!"
Alas, my response instead was, "Well, if you are so bored with all these wonderful toys and crafts and games and videos and books, then let's donate them!" So they had to go pick what we refer to as the "non-Happy Meal toy" to donate to Goodwill. I can honestly say they have not uttered it again. One time, Claire said, "Mom, we're b....Never mind."
We also love the line of Table Topics we carry. Kids To Go is perfect to keep in the car for times of potential boredom, or when they are in the car with friends. It's amazing what you can learn from them as they answer the questions! Another great boredom buster is the Road Trip To Go cards.
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read more! One thing we try to do to make our product/company different than the rest is ongoing motivation and education for parents and children. We try to include as much as we can on our website, such as motivation ideas, how to teach your child to give, save, and spend, etc. We have videos, video blogs, and newsletters. We cover lots of topics in our newsletters over the years. You can access our archives by clicking here.Let us know what else we can cover for you! That's what we are here for...to help you and your family successfully navigate the difficult, often tumultuous waters of raising responsible children. |
we love our customers! This email was in response to our follow-up, assuring that the customer picked up her order from our warehouse without a hitch:
"Yes! I picked it up Monday afternoon and started using it that night. It is already working great. My son had his chores completed before I came home from work yesterday and he finally fed the dog this morning with out being asked :) thank you so much for this product. It is going to have wonderful effects on him and our family!!" Tarah
Texas
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