Frequently Asked Questions
- What is EasyChild?
- How does it work?
- What are the differences
between Basic, Standard, and Deluxe versions?
- What are Hotspots?
- How many levels can
I add?
- How do I decide which
features to use (Allowances, Tokens, etc)?
- How do I set a password?
- What do I do if I forget
my password?
- What is “Selector”?
How can I add photos in there?
- Can I add more than
3 children?
- What is your return
policy?
- What is your system
requirement?
- How do I install?
- Where can I find
the serial #?
- I entered the serial number, but the program prompts to enter the serial number again.
How do I correct this?
- I get an error message
when I start the program. What do I do?
- I am getting invalid
date error message "Loading Child Data Error # 13 Cast from
string to type Date is not valid". How do I solve this?
- How do I receive
free software updates?
- I am getting errors when trying to print to my HP printer. What do I do?
- When I try to install I am getting the following error "installation package could not be opened. Contact application vendor to verify that this is a valid Windows installer package". What do I do?
- Can I upgrade
the software?
- Can I order by check
or money order?
- How do I contact the
Customer Support?
If you do not see your
questions, please contact us at easychild@gmail.com or
click here
1. What
is EasyChild?
EasyChild software was created
to encourage the creation and implementation of a consistent,
individualized family system in order to eliminate the ambiguity
and confusion that are usually the cause of difficult parenting
situations.
In less than 1 hour, a family can customize the system
by specifying the positive behaviors you would like to
encourage and the negative behaviors you wish to eliminate,
as well as a fair set of rules for the entire family to
follow. Once set up, EasyChild requires
less then 15 minutes a week at the computer. And you'll
gain valuable time and energy lost in the past!
2. How
does it work?
The foundation of the EasyChild system
is the weekly Point Sheet and the Privilege Level Chart.
Each behavior can be customized by the family or selected
from predefined suggestions for each child's age. Each
behavior is assigned a point value based on its importance.
By tracking and tallying points over the course of a week,
your child earns a Privilege Level. This week's Points
determine next week's Privilege Level, rewarding the child
with the privileges they have earned. The weekly cycle
begins on Saturday and ends on Friday. This clearly spelled-out
structure forms the core for behavior modification. When
children know what the rules are and agree that they are
fair, they begin to feel more secure and begin to "play
by the rules."
By placing the Point Sheet and Privilege Level Chart print
outs in the kitchen or other convenient family area, both
parents and children can track how they are doing that
week.
Once per week, data from the Point Sheet is entered into
the computer. That week's Privilege Level is determined,
and a new worksheet is printed for the next week. The software
will also automatically compute an allowance based on the
points earned.
3. What
are differences between Basic, Standard, and Deluxe versions?
EasyChild Basics Edition
Everything you need to implement a consistent famuly structure.
This is a great for those who want to get started at an
affordable price.
- Your system, completely
customizable structure for positive parenting
- Your rules, completely
customizable weekly behavior sheet
- Your rewards, completely
customizable privilege chart
- Your choice, specify
the point value and compute allowance automatically
EasyChild Standard Edition
The standard edition includes all the tools you need to implement
a consistent family structure and teach your children the concepts
of saving and budgeting using both money and token incentives.
- All of the Basic
Version features
- Create your own cash
incentives and budgets to track and teach your child money
management
- Create your own token
economy to teach your children to save for bigger rewards and
value non-monetary incentives
EasyChild Deluxe Edition
The ultimate family solution - a complete toolkit to create
a consistent family structure, teach values
and encourage your children to be more successful. It includes
an incident system that manages the consequences for those
unfortunate but serious behaviors that happen now and then.
Learning is enhanced when you and your children can review
behavior and financial history in reports and graphs. This
software is so smart it includes an Analyzer to help you
identify the important behavior trend over time and help
you interact with your children in a positive supportive
way.
- All the Basic and
Standard features.
- Create your own rules
and consequences to address those serious incidents that can
happen occasionally
- Review behavior and
financial history using reports and graphs to enhance learning
and visualize trends
- Advanced intelligent
behavior analyzer to help identify trends and make suggestions
to interact with your children in a positive and supportive
way.
- Your inquiry to the
customer support is guaranteed to be answered within 24 hours.
All the products include
free support via Email and phone and also has 60 day money back
guarantee.
4. What
are Hotspots?
When
tracking behaviors, (money, tokens in Standard Edition) and (Incidents
in Deluxe Edition), we refer to the colored dot as a ‘hotspot’.
The hotspot tracks how many times each behavior, for example
has occurred. They are purple dots, except for Incident worksheet
(Deluxe version).
They
can be single or double clicked in each cell to be added, and
their values can be adjusted easily. Single click to adjust its
value and/or attach a note. Multiple Hotspots can be added in
one single cell. Furthermore, in the Point Sheet, you can automatically
add Hotspots for the entire week by selecting an Expected Behaviors
and double clicking on the “Totals” section. This adds Hotspots
for the days highlighted in pink (Days Expected).
5. How
many levels can I add?
You can have up to
seven different levels in the Level Chart. You can adjust the
number of levels depending on what you determine would be appropriate
for your children. The default levels are Super Level, Level
A – Level F. The very bottom level has no privileges. As the
level goes higher, the Privileges should become more special,
motivating your child to perform better. The level names can
also be changed. For example, if your child loves animals, you
can use animals as level names.
6. How
do I decide which features to use (Allowances, Tokens, etc)?
The Basic Version has
an Option to use Allowances. The Standard Version has Allowance,
Money and Token features. And the Deluxe version has Allowance,
Money, Tokens, and Incident features. Which features to use is
totally up to the parent. Simply select the features you would
like to use from “Options” from the top menu. Your child already
has Privileges to earn by behaving well. If your child has been
receiving allowances without behaving well or performing extra
tasks, it may be a good idea to incorporate Allowances in EasyChild system.
This way, your child has to “earn” his or her Allowances rather
than simply receiving them. This way, your child would be motivated
to behave better for the higher amount of Allowances, and at
the same time, they would feel better about themselves for “earning” and
receive the amount they deserve.
7. How
do I set a password?
When you are setting
the password for the first time, click “Password” from top. Then
click “Change Password”. Select a password and press OK. Next
time you open EasyChild, you would
need to put in this password to continue.
If
you want to change your password, “Change Password” is grayed
out unless you enter the correct password. So type in the password,
then click “Change Password”. Enter the new password and press
OK. Next time you start EasyChild, you would
need to put in the new password.
8. What
do I do if I forget my password?
If
you forget your password, please contact our Customer Support. mailto:techsupport@easychild.com or
call us at (858)345-4154.
9. What
is “Selector”? How can I add photos in there?
Selector
is the window below “Print” menu that shows names and photos
(if any) of the family and children. To add photos to each family
member, please follow one of the two methods described below.
- Double
click on a member from the Selector. That opens the “Select
Picture” window. Click “Open”. Select a photo from your computer.
The photo needs to be in jpeg format. After selecting a photo,
click “Smaller” or “Larger” to adjust the size. Also use
the red square to center the photo. After adjustment has
been made, click “Save” and close the window.
- Click on Family
Info. Highlight the member you wish add a photo and click “Select
Picture”. “Select Picture” window opens. Click Open and select
a photo from your computer. Make sure it is in jpeg format.
After selecting a photo, click “Smaller” or “Lager” to adjust
the size. Use the red square to center the photo. After all
the adjustments are made, click “Save” and close the window.
You can
repeat the above process to replace a photo.
10. Can
I add more than 3 children?
Yes!
You can add more than 3 children in EasyChild. In the
Quick Setup, it only allows you to enter up to 3 children. After
clicking “OK” in the Quick Setup, you can add more children by
clicking “Family Info” from the menu and click “Add” and enter
the additional child’s information. Repeat this process until
you are done adding all the children. The maximum number of child
that can be added is seven.
11. What
is your Return Policy?
Please
be sure to follow these guidelines to avoid any delay or denial
of your returned item.
To
receive a refund, the EasyChild software
needs to be returned within 60 days of the purchase. Please include
the following items with the CD ROM.
1. Serial
number
2. Original
receipt/sales invoice
3. Print
out of the Return
or Refund form
***To
obtain the return address, please contact the Customer Support
at (858) 345-4154. It cannot be returned to Encourage Software
address.
Returns
processing may take up to 4-6 weeks from the time your return
is received. The Customer is responsible for shipping and handling
charges on all returned items
If
you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us
at: 858-345-4154
12. What
is your system requirement?
In order to run EasyChild, Windows Operating System
is required. Windows 98, 2000, NT, ME, and XP is compatible with
our product. Furthermore .NET framework is required, which is
included in the installation process. If you have any further
questions regarding the system requirement, please contact us
: easychild@gmail.com
13. How do I install?
To install EasyChild, insert the CD in your
CD-ROM driver. If you do not see the installation window, you
can go to:
From the Start menu, chose "Run".
Then type in d:setup
If you have any difficulty installing
the software, please contact our customer service. If you do
not have .NET framework installed, the installation process will
include to install it.
The Serial Number can be found on the back of the
software case.
14. Where can I find
the serial number?
The serial numbers are found on the back of
your CD case. Please enter all the letters and numbers as it
appears on the sticker, including dashes (-). Furthermore, please make sure you are connected
to the internet when you are typing in the serial number
in order to confirm it. Otherwise, you'll be asked to enter
the serial number over and over again.
15. I entered the serial number, but the program prompts to enter the serial number again.
How do I correct this?
This occurs because of a firewall or internet
security program installed in your computer.
Please allow the following from the firewall:
EasyChild.exe
IP address 209.216.245.90
Port 11000
Norton Internet security program
1. Open Norton Internet security program and click on 'Status
and Settings' under 'Norton internet security'.
2. Click on 'personal firewall' and click 'configure'.In the
new window, go to 'Programs' tab. Click add and then select c:/bms/EasyChild.exe.
Click OK. A new window opens up.In the Program control window, for
the question 'what do you want to do' select 'manually configure internet
access'. A new window pops up after you click OK.
3. For the first question select 'Permit' and click Next. For
the second question select 'Connection to and from other computers'
and click next. For the third question select 'Only the computers
listed below'. Then click on Add.
4. In the new window,select 'individually' and in the text box
below enter 209.216.245.90.Click Ok to return to the previous
form. Click Next. Select 'TCP and UDP'. Then click 'Only the
types of ports listed'. Then click on 'Add.Click on 'Individually
specified ports'. Enter 11000 in the text box and select 'Remote'
for locality. Click Ok to return to the previous form.
5. Click next . For the name of the rule, type in 'EasyChild rule'. Click next.Click Finish.
6. Then go to 'Intrusion detection'. Click on configure. In the new
window, go to 'autoblock' tab. Click 'exclusions'. Click add and in
the text box that appears add 209.216.245.90.Click ok to return to
the main form. Close norton after clicking OK.
McAfee Security program
1. Open McAfee security center.
2. It displays the "mysecurity center" tab. On the left hand side, click on "personal firewall+" tab.
3. In this window, click on "view the internet applications list"
4. A new window with the list of applications appear. Click on "new allowed
application". Select Easychild.exe from the directory where it was
installed (c:/bms/easychild.exe)
5. Click Ok. The easychild application will be listed now in the internet applications list.
If you continue to experience difficulties, please
contact our technical support.
16. I get an error message when I start the
program. What do I do?
Do you see the following error message?
"Application has generated an exception that
could not be handled".
This error is caused because the performance
counters (which tracks several areas of your PC's performance)
is disabled in your system. To enable the performance counters,
please choose one of the methods given below. Performance counters
can be enabled by using the ExCtrlList utility which can be
downloaded free from http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/reskit/tools/existing/exctrlst-o.asp.
Alternatively, you can use the Registry editor tool (Regedit.exe)
that comes with Windows system.
Note: Enabling performance counters
involves modifying the windows registry. Before you modify
the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you
understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs.
For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the
registry, click the following article number to view the article
in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 256986 Description of the
Microsoft Windows Registry
Disclaimer: We are not responsible for
any damages incurred from editing your registry. We highly
recommend backing up your registry before attempting any modifications
Enabling Performance Counter Using ExCtrlLst
1. Start Exctrlst.exe found in 'C:\Program Files\Resource
Kit\'
2. Select the first item in the Extensible Performance
Counters list box.
3. Inspect the Performance Counters Enabled checkbox
that appears just below the list box. If the checkbox
is selected, the counter is enabled. If it is cleared,
then select the checkbox to re-enable it.
4. Select the next item in the Extensible Performance
Counters list box and repeat the previous two steps
until all items have the Performance Counters Enabled
checkbox selected. When done, just exit the utility.
Enabling Performance Counter by Using
Regedit.exe
WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you
may cause serious problems that may require you to
reinstall your operating system.
1. Start Regedit.exe by going to Start menu and then
choosing "Run" and typing in "regedit.exe"
2. Click to select the following key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services
3. Select Find from the Edit menu.
4. In the Find What field, type Disable Performance
Counters.
5. Click Find Next. This will locate a Performance
key that may have this Registry value set to 1.
6. If the Registry value is set to 1, set the value
to 0 or delete the Registry value.
7. Press F3 to find the next occurrence of this Registry
value.
8. Repeat the previous two steps until there are no
Performance keys that have the Disable Performance
Counters value set to 1.
After the performance counters are enabled, reopen the EasyChild
application.
17. I am getting invalid date error message
"Loading Child Data
Error # 13 Cast from string to type Date is not valid".
How do I solve this?
This error is caused if you have a Date settings
different from US date setting. This error is usually seen in
international customers.
To correct this, go to Start->Control Panel->Regional
and Language Options. In "Regional Options" tab, select "English
(United States)" from the first drop down list. Click Ok
and then reopen EasyChild.
We are currently working on implementing the feature of
specifying the date formats. We shall post the announcement
in the EasyChild forum as soon as it's available. Please
make sure to check our forum (http://easychild.com/forum/)
for any latest updates.
18. How do I receive free software updates?
We stand behind our products. All EasyChild
software comes with two years of free updates.
Periodically we will be releasing new
versions for bug fixes or improvements. The program will automatically
inform you when a newer version is available via the internet.
EasyChild will then give you the option to download and install
them automatically at your request.
If you prefer to get an update on CD-ROM,
you may contact customer service and place an update order.
You will be charged $9.95 to cover fulfillment costs.
To order by phone, please call us at 1-800-567-0046
19. I am getting errors when trying to print
to my HP printer.
What do I do?
Some of HP or Compaq printer may not print
EasyChild worksheets. To print from EasyChild program, the printer
driver has to be compatible with .NET framework (which is what EasyChild
software is based on).
After contacting HP, it has come to our attention that the model numbers
like 820 and 722 are not supported and HP doesn’t provide support
for those that are 3-4 yrs old. If you are having printing issues,
please check the manufacture site for updated drivers which would
be compatible with the .NET framework.
Meanwhile, please use any of the following generic printer drivers
to print the EasyChild sheets. These drivers convert the EasyChild
sheets to either image files or pdf documents which you can later
print to your printer.
1. Black Ice Printer drivers (http://www.blackice.com/Printer%20Drivers/PrinterDriverProducts.htm)
Download any of the trial versions of Black ice printer drivers such
as Monochrome/Color/Colorplus/Metafile/Pdf. After downloading the
setup file, extract the zip files to a folder and run setup.exe. After
installing the driver, go to Start->Control Panel->Printers and Faxes.
Right Click on the Black Ice Demo driver and click 'Set as Default
Printer'. Open EasyChild Print form and click print after selecting
the form that you want to print. You will see a window from Black
Ice that shows the location where the image file or pdf file is saved.
Go to that particular directory and print that file.
2. Neevia docuPrinter Pro v5.1 http://www.neevia.com/download/product/?prodid=DP51PRO
After installing the docuPrinter, go to Control
Panel->Printers and faxes and set it as the default printer. Open
EasyChild Print form and click print after selecting the form that
you want to print. A window will open to specify the location where
you need to save the converted pdf file to. Save the file and print
the pdf document.
3. Miraplacid Publisher 5.1
http://www.topshareware.com/Miraplacid-Publisher-download-574.htm
20. When I try to install I am getting
the following error "installation package could not be opened. Contact
application vendor to verify that this is a valid Windows installer
package". What do I do?
This problem may occur if the locally cached Windows Installer package (.msi) file is damaged or corrupted. Another cause of this problem is if you have Windows Installer version 3.1.
Please follow the instructions (Method 1 ) in the following link from Microsoft: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=898628
If the above link doesn't resolve the issue, please download the Windows Installer version 3.0 from
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=5fbc5470- b259-4733-a914-a956122e08e8&DisplayLang=en
After the above installation is complete, install the EasyChild software.
20. Can I upgrade the software?
Yes you can! And you can keep your
data when upgrading to either the Standard Version or to the
Deluxe version.
To order upgrades, please visit:
http://www.encouragestore.com/product-upgrades.html
or to Order by Phone, please call us at 1-800-567-0046
21. Can I order by check
or money order?
Yes you can! Please pick
the correct form from below. Then print it out and attach your
check or money order (the price is listed in the form). Then
mail them to:
Encourage Software
40485 Murrieta Hot Springs Rd. PMB #165
Murrieta, CA 92563
Basics Edition for California resident click here
Basics Edition for non-California resident click here
Standard Edition for California resident click here
Standard Edition for non-California resident click here
Deluxe Edition for California Resident click here
Deluxe Edition for non-California resident click here
22. How
do I contact the Customer Support?
Customer Service
Contact form (Click here)
By
Mail:
Encourage
Software
2683 Via De La Valle
#G623
Del
Mar, California 92014
By
Phone:
(858)
345-4154
Customer
Service hours:
9am – 5pm PST Monday-Friday
By
Email:
easychild@gmail.com
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