Portable Parenting

Over the past year I have been having a harder time getting my 5 year old to listen, and it seems that her misbehavior tends to leave her in time out. This especially happens when we are out on the go. It seems that I am just always threatening her "you need to listen or else you wont play with your leapster when you get home" or something along the lines. So when I heard about the Take Out Time Out by Portable Parenting I knew it was the perfect solution for those outings where the girls just wont listen. What I love about the Time Out mat is that it is very light weight and fits perfectly in the carry case, and is small enough to throw into the diaper bag. When the girls start to misbehave I just take out the time out mat and and make them stand on it for either 5 minutes or 2 minutes, depending on which girl (their time out minutes is the same as their age) Of course I get those parents who are like "what is that" and I explain that it is my time out mat for my children when they misbehave. I feel that children should have consequences to their misbehavior right at the time of the "crime", no "when we get home your in time out" by the time we get home they already forgot what they did wrong (Sarah)


Another great product is the Star Stash! For those same outings, when a child is good and behaves this is a great rewarding system. You can even sue the Star Stash for chores and such. You can find the contract on how to use the little tokens. STARS should be given immediately after good behavior is displayed, therefore make sure to keep the Star Stash Tote with you at all times. Also, reward opportunities can be spontaneously added when a needed.
When child displays good behavior, you can then allow for them to trade stars (ex. When shopping, if child shows good behavior during the shopping trip, then they can redeem their stars. Make sure to explain the rules before you enter the store.)
STARS can be taken away for not following rules or using bad language.

These two products have really helped calm the chaos in our house hold, and Samantha has really changed her attitude, not just because she will get rewarded, but she is learning that she should listen to her parents and that the rules are there to help and teach her, not to punish her. We even use the time out mat at home, and she knows that if she is mean, like hitting calling names, or disobeying our house rules it will get her sent to the time out mat where she has to think about what she has done wrong. I also make her apologize for misbehaving.

I know these methods don't work for everyone or every family, but if you do have unruly children and are trying to find ways to help with making them understand what good behavior is and what is acceptable; I highly recommend trying out the products from Portable Parenting. I never believed in time outs or giving children's allowance for doing chores and such. I always felt that they should do them as a family contribution like I did growing up. But as my girls get older my "rules" as you could say are changing too. I do think that certain good behavior deserves acknowledgement and rewarding. And time outs do work for my fmaily.