Expert Advice to Help Kids Conquer Healthy Habits and Character Development

Let's talk about house rules. What were some of your family's house rules that you remember from your childhood? Through out life there will be an established system of rules we are expected to follow as a means of demonstrating good citizenship. Before we venture out into the world, we first learn to understand and abide by house rules formed within our homes. Creating a set of household expectations which will work best for our families is an essential part of child development. When introducing little learners, to guiding principles for the household, simplicity and consistency are the best way to start the process. Considering the dynamics of your child's learning style and personality style are important factors to keep in mind when working to set standards. Little learners are often referred to as "the great imitators", use this as an opportunity to lead by example since they're likely watching your every move. Mistakes will happen, if a house rule is disregarded or poor choices are made, explain the misstep, review expectations, and work together to discuss ways to change behavior patterns moving forward. Take note of this expert advice to help kids conquer healthy habits and character development.

Thank you to the promotional team for Goodtimer for the courtesy of providing gratuitous product for editorial purposes. This content may contain affiliate links.

Expert Advice to Help Kids Conquer Healthy Habits and Character Development

Let's start at the beginning, I'm talking about the basics. I mean, from little learners to life long learners, observing rules, healthy habits, and character development are all  fundamental concepts stand as common principles we use as we interact with others from a place of respect. Children gain confidence from learning, knowing and doing what is most helpful to family and friends, and most importantly for themselves. Not only are house rules demonstrating the most considerate ways to behave, healthy habits and character development set our children up for future success interacting with family, friends and coworkers. Goodtimer is an ideal way to work together in a positive manner to build a strong, supportive social skill foundation.

What is Goodtimer?

"Goodtimer is an award-winning educational toy that helps you and your child work together to encourage better behavior. Goodtimer is easy to incorporate into your family's routine and motivates your child to learn healthy habits in a way that's fun for the whole family."

"We recommend your house rules be phrased as "do" statements rather than “don’t” statements. For example- “Use your words” is recommended over “no hitting” because it puts the emphasis on the desired behavior. Make sure everyone in the family understands what is expected of them and display the list of rules where everyone can see it. If your children are too young to read you can include simple pictures to help them remember. Setting clear expectations is the first step to forming good habits that last."

2021 PAL Award 

2021 Academics Choice Brain Toy Award

2021 Hot Diggity Toy Award

2021 National Parenting Products Award

2021 Amazon Launchpad Innovation Grant

2021 Family Choice Award

2021 Tillywig Awards Parents’ Favorite Products

2020 National Parenting Center Seal of Approval

2020 Creative Child Awards Product of the Year

2020 Mom’s Choice Gold Award 

What is the recommended age for Goodtimer?

"Goodtimer was designed for children between the ages of 3 and 10 years old; although some have families have had success using Goodtimer with children as young as 2. It really depends on the developmental level of the individual child.

Goodtimer is designed to track the performance for a single child. A critical element of the Goodtimer experience is that your child takes responsibility for their behavior and therefore their performance is tracked by their individual Goodtimer. After opening Goodtimer, they will personalize it and it will track their performance over time helping them to progress as they reach new Good-Time milestones."

I've read rewarding children for good behavior can cause problems. Is that what Goodtimer does?

"Although positive reinforcement is generally a recommended practice for improving behavior, the overuse of rewards can result in entitlement issues or a "what's in it for me attitude". Specifically, if children are rewarded for each good choice they make, they begin to expect a reward for every good deed they do. Goodtimer was carefully developed to address this phenomenon by incorporating a positive reinforcement approach that does not directly reward specific behaviors. Instead, Goodtimer tokens are earned when children consistently adhere to established house rules over an extended period of time (for example a 24-hour period). In this way, children are encouraged to make good choices without constantly receiving a reward for these desired behaviors. Also, families are encouraged to establish a token incentive system such that the child can exchange their tokens for reasonable privileges; not extravagant prizes. In this way, children learn to make good choices because it’s fun and the right thing to do, not so they'll get a big reward."

Find additional information and purchase links for Goodtimer available online and on Amazon.

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