Reviews of On-Task On-Time For Kids

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I have never before written an Amazon review, but I feel compelled to because this product means so much to me. I started out looking for something just like this product, only what I visualized was a digital timer that would act as an alarm clock and give a series of chirps when it was time to move to the next chore. I have not had good luck with this type of rotary timer. I went through quite a few kitchen timers that never worked and was very hesitant to order this product because it is essentially a big kitchen timer with pictures on it. The problem I had with the kitchen timers was that they wouldn't ring once the timer ran out making them essentially useless. There is a muffled ding at the end of this hour-long timer, but this sound isn't important to us because although it means it's time to go out the door, I walk my kids to school and I am watching the clock and know when it's time to go. As a reward for getting all their tasks done, my kids get to play their Leapsters, Nintendo DS or read and are so distracted that they don't notice the ding of the timer. But if they were doing tasks right up to the end, they would be watching the timer and see the next task was to go out the door. I may make this alteration when my kids are old enough to walk to school themselves, but maybe not, it isn't such a big deal to remind them it's time to go. These timers take care of A LOT of the morning routine for you.

Just to back-up a little and give you some history. I have a seven-year-old and twin six-year-olds. My eldest's teacher told me that he was essentially the most disorganized kid in his class. At home before school he could generally eat breakfast without much prompting but I had to remind him to do everything else many times and with two other kids to get out the door, I found that I was running around getting THEM ready to go and when it was time to leave, I wasn't ready. I did a lot of shouting orders from my bedroom as I would try to dress and get my make-up on. It was stressful doing all that shouting and frustrating that my son couldn't seem to remember what to next. I had shortened his routine to breakfast, dress, brush teeth, put on coat. He never once got through those four things without getting distracted. After doing this for two and a half years, I knew things had to change. We would frequently be mad at each other on the way to school and it was damaging our relationship.

I knew in my heart that he honestly wanted to please me but he has a very hard time focusing on the task at hand. I think that we as adults have a difficult time understanding that if we were made to get ready in the morning without clocks (my kids cannot read time so clocks mean little to them) and without a developed sense of the passage of time, we would be pretty lost too. This product takes care of that issue for us. From the first day I handed the timer to my son he got ready independently. He not only gets through his tasks without prompting and is ready on time, he also does much more than ever before. He flosses, washes his face, clears his dishes, takes his vitamins. I am deliriously happy. I think about him learning these good habits and what that will mean for him down the road.

When my son got his timer, his younger sisters, who were much better about getting ready, wanted one too, so I got one for each of them and they now do much more than they did before. I timed their activities so that each of them was in the bathroom at different times. I also timed their activities to keep my two oldest kids in separate parts of the house, because they had a tendency to argue in the mornings. I won't pretend that our mornings are perfect, but they are infinitely better than before. The most important change for me is that I no longer feel like a drill sergeant, a role I never wanted for myself.

Some important things to know there are three disks that come with each unit, so you can set-up a different routine for morning, after-school, and evening. We haven't tried to implement the routines for the pm because our schedule is too varied and chaotic then, but I imagine I will make up a new set of disks for camp this summer when our mornings are very different from the regular school year.

My kids all read. I don't know how well this might work for kids who don't read. There are pictures, so I imagine you could train them to follow the pictures, but I can't vouch for how well it would work.

I highly recommend getting one for each of your kids and to make them carry it with them throughout the morning. Unless you live in a very small apartment, hanging it on a wall would make it too easy to ignore when out of sight.

The spot for writing in special reminders has been very useful to remind the kids of play dates, after school activities, library books, and other things. I fill these all out the night before to also get it clear in my head what's happening the next day.

I truly could go on and on but to keep this a reasonable length, I want to close by writing that I am so much more relaxed in the mornings now that I don't have to worry about scooting everyone along. I do have to still make sure that they haven't left their timers somewhere out of sight and we still have our occasional sibling spat, but with my tension gone, they are much more relaxed and happy too. Needless to say, I think this product is well worth the cost!

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Great product! Working out great getting my son off to school on time. Looks like it was made with a small child in mind, but I am using it for my 10 y/o son who has ADHD and is very disorganized. The morning are ususally a nightmare, but this product has really helped and he is having a lot of fun at the same time. Instead of using expensive rewards he works hard to reach his goal and can then earn TV or video game game time after school. We only had one morning that did not go so well using the timer and there was no TV after school and because I stuck by my word the TV never went on that afternoon. He believed me after and jumps out of bed every morning to beat the clock!!! The only thing I did not like was the fact that the stickers are hard to move on the wheel once they are in place. The first few days we had to make adjustments to the wheel/stickers and now a bunch of them are all curled up on the corners.

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We had this "Task Mashine" for couple weeks. It works great! I don't have to nag my 5 y.o. daughter any more. She does everything in order and religiuosly. She was crying her heart out, when my husband turned this "Task Mashine" off before she was finished with all the tasks.

THis machine comes with 3 disks, where you can place tasks images in customized order. I wish the disks were a little easier to switch. I actually put "School Time" and "Bed Time" tasks on one disk, because I didn't want to keep switching the disks. I also wish it had actual digital number timer or more visual digital color timer, then it is. I was a little concerned about it, but again it works for my daughter and she stays on task and on time. I would recomend it to other parents. Thank you!

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Ok, I am a real mom with real kids, boys at that. Getting out of the house or ready for bed is a nightmare! My boys nag, put off getting ready, and seem to take forever. We are late and stressed by the time we leave the house. I picked up two of these, one for each son. I never expected they would work, as they are a little older (5 and 10). They certainly did work and even better, the kids love them. Instead of racing each other (which leads to fighting...) they race the timer. Imagine your children standing by the door waiting for you to be ready! This comes with three disks, so you can create a timer for bedtime, morning routine, we use the third for chore list. It is a little big, but the size works for kids. Make sure you specify boy or girl, my first shipment I received girl stickers! :) My fault though...I would suggest ordering directly from timely matters website. Support a mom who was an entrepreneur, rather than Amazon!

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My 6 yo daughter is an extremely distractable child which makes getting ready for school every morning very difficult. It may frequently take 5 reminders just to get her to do one task which often results in her getting off to school late. I recieved the On-Task On-Time Timer yesterday and implemented it this morning. It was truly amazing. She got ready in record time with no reminders and even completed extra tasks like making her bed, putting her dishes away, and flossing her teeth. She was ready to leave 6 minutes early and then proceded to help her little brother finish getting ready. She was so proud of herself and didn't have to rush to eat breakfast for once. It was so nice to leave the house with a big smile on her face and a happy mom. I want to get another one for my son now.