Learning Resources Time Tracker Mini Visual Timer, Classroom Timer, Hand Washing Timer, Auditory and Visual Cue, Ages 3+

For the way I parent with my child we have found that setting timers to help with things he is supposed to do (cleaning his room, brushing teeth, getting dressed) works best for us! Usually my four year old will always ask me "can I have 5 more minutes " or "can I do this in 5 minutes?" My answer is always yes! I set a timer on my phone to help transition between tasks. With him being four, he has no concept of time and it's a bit easier for him to understand when he can actually see it! The coolest thing about this timer is the warning setting! I can set this timer for 10 minutes and then set the 2nd timer/warning timer for 5 minutes, the timer turns yellow when it hits that 5 minute mark. It shows him how much time is left and he loves to race the timer to see who is faster! It's got a pretty good volume on it when it does go off, it doesn't get annoying by going off the whole time. After a few seconds, the timer stops and the light continues to flash red. It has been a wonderful tool to help with transitions!

I have two daughters, ages 11.5 and 9.5. The older one has a plethora of behavioral challenges (Oppositional defiant disorder, ADHD, learning disabilities, etc). She is a CHALLENGING child. I think her brain is set on Groundhog Day mode because what she is told one day, she has completely and totally forgotten by the next day.My other daughter is a dreamer. She loves to look at the sun, the fuzz-ball on her pj's, how the water swishes down the drain, etc. As you can imagine, it takes her FOREVER to complete a task. In her case, it's not out of defiance or disobedience, it's just daydreaming. For her, this Time Tracker Mini has been a God-send. We set the timer to "remind" her after 10 minutes to get out of the shower and the second it goes off, she turns off the water. Then the second timer kicks and and she is dressed and downstairs eating breakfast before the second 10 minutes. It used to take her nearly an hour to do this with constant yelling and reminding. She loves having the visual and audible reminder to keep her on track and feels good about beating the timer. For her it's wonderful.For my other daughter, she bucks authority so it doesn't work as well for her. She will just ignore the timer and say she didn't hear it, will turn it off and claim it's broken, etc. The child has to be motivated to want to do the right thing in order for devices like these to be helpful. So, if your child is like my younger daughter, I think you will get a great deal of use out of this amazing and easy to use little device. We use it every day and haven't had to change the batteries yet. The alarm sound is loud but not startling, even at the highest volume. It's easy to set and easy to use. I would definitely recommend this for anyone who has a little dreamer on their hands.

This review is on the actual product, which I have given 4 stars because the first one I ordered did not work at all. Getting it replaced/returned was so quick and easy, customer service was 5 stars!This product works well for kids who need a little help focusing and managing their time, and the visual signals are better for our kids. It also has a sound alarm but you can turn it all the way down if you want to avoid it. So far, we have not had to use the sound, and the warning light option is a great feature. We have basically eliminated morning tardies at school and it's great for structuring the afternoon and mixing homework/chores/practice in with periods of play.We have tried sand timers, alarms, the Timed Timer, etc. and while those all worked a little (except for sound alarms, they caused too much anxiety), this Time Tracker is ten times more effective for us.Areas that need improvement:1. You can only set both lights in 5 minute increments. So far this hasn't been a big problem for us, but it would be nice to set a 2-minute warning instead of a 5-minute warning. Perhaps a more expensive model offers this, I'm not sure.2. Better construction. The first one arrived broken. It was packaged to withstand a trip to Mars, yet the trip from warehouse to house rendered it useless. Even though the second one works, I'm afraid to let the kids attempt to set it for fear that it may self destruct. I can't imagine having to go without it until another working model arrived!

Pro - Big dome light gives clear indication if the time period expired.Cons - 1) Failed after ten weeks (beeped and dome light turned yellow at warning time, but intermittently did NOT beep and light up red at time expiration - light would remain yellow forever). 2) Sound is too brief and easy for child to miss if they are engrossed in an activity, even at full volume and indoors. 3) Cannot tell how much time is remaining. 4) Warning timer dial confusingly sets a second timer, which has to be less than the main timer. It would be more natural for it to be how many minutes prior to main timer the warning timer goes off.We bought a second unit after the first one failed. It's working fine, but I expect it will fail soon, too. We wanted to buy a different product but couldn't find one with a two-hour timer. We took the first one apart for fun - didn't see any obvious problems with its somewhat-simple circuitry. Perhaps the firmware suffered a glitch?