Time Timer Giveaway (Christmas Wish List 2010)

I’m sure you all know I’m the mother of a very active and curious soon to be 3yr old little boy and sometimes getting him to sit down and take a minuet to rest or putting him in time out can most of the time be a challenge so when I started thinking about things for my shopping list this holiday season, one of the first things that came to mind was to look for something that would help “Bug” see his “rest time”, “nap time” and his “time-out time” to maybe make the process easier on the both of us! So while searching around for a product to fit that bill, I stumbled upon Time Timer and I felt it would be a perfect addition to our Christmas Wish List Gift Guide!

About Time Timer (Taken From Website):

Over 20 years ago, Jan Rogers, the mother of an independent, inquisitive 4 year old, sought a solution to her daughter’s natural curiosity about time. Nicknamed the "how much longer kid," young Loran found the concept of time to be both a challenge and a frustration. Her innate need to beat the clock in athletics as well as household tasks was combined with annoyance at not being able to understand the passage of time.

The common analog clock was beyond her comprehension. Teaching clocks were cleverly labeled, but often cluttered with information. Though meant to target children of her age, they were too difficult for a child that didn’t even remember which way the "hands" were traveling.

This led to exploring the market for other timing devices that might enable Loran to understand time more clearly. Jan found the options limited to digital clocks and timers and the standard mechanical kitchen timer. The digital products appeared as just changing numbers, with no way to see time as a measurement. The kitchen timer was ineffective because it was difficult to "see" the time elapse in a consistent direction and the bell at the end of a time segment always came as a surprising termination.

Jan knew there must be a better idea and that better idea might have to come from her. The vision she had was that if a child could “see” time as a measurement and begin to understand its duration, he/she would have a basic concept of time. This concept led to the design of the Time Timer with its patented red disk. As the time elapsed the red disk would disappear, creating a graphic image of the passage of time.

The evolution of the manufacturing process for the Time Timer began in about 1993. Jan found her way through this unknown territory by following leads and making hundreds of phone calls. She found that she could get a lot of information by being completely ignorant about what she was doing — dumb questions and good instincts were the building blocks of her company!

The first manufacturer of the Time Timer made the initial production run in his basement. This seemed like a pretty easy thing to do, so Jan took over the manufacturing process after about a year. The original timers were made of saw cut, foam core plastic and the face was applied with double-faced tape. The original red disk was attached to the minute hand of a clock movement. Only about 200 of this model were sold over the first 2 years.

In order to produce a timer with a more professional look, Jan went in search of an industrial engineer and plastics fabrication company. More phone calls and tracking down leads. With patent in hand and a confidence in the worth and marketability of the product, the next big step was taken. A small plastics company agreed to take on the project and the original Time Timer molds were made. For about 3 years, Jan and an assistant received the parts and built each Time Timer by hand. This process kept costs down, but began to falter in keeping up with demand.

It became clear that production would have to be passed on to a larger company, which would fabricate, assemble and ship the timers. It was far more costly, but demand could be met and the inefficiencies created by the existing work place were solved. Over the approximate 20 years of the existence of the Time Timer, the evolution of the market focus has expanded from pre-school/early childhood, to a growing adult market. One of the strongest markets continues to be education K-12. The special needs (ADD, ADHD, AUTISM, etc) segment is boosted by the fields of occupational and physical therapies. Sports, meeting management and professional organizers are the latest areas in the global expansion of Time Timer sales.

My Thoughts:

I’ve had some time to look over the Time Timers and I have to say that just by checking them out online, I think they would be a very nice addition to our daily routine and help “Bug” see when he has to wait for things and how long he need to just rest instead of being up and going constantly! I know it would make it a lot easier if he could actually see the time for himself vs. having to rely on me to tell him how much longer and such!

I like that the Time Timer comes in three different sizes that would be perfect to have the smaller one for our travel bag for overnight stays at his grandparents for his quite time and time outs and then a bigger one for at home where we can leave it where he will be able to see it himself!

Buy It:
To purchase the Time Timer visit their website!

Win It:
Time Timer has offered one of my readers an 8" Time Timer (ARV $35) to try in your own home!

Mandatory Entry: Visit Time Timer and tell me what you would most likely use your Time Timer for! Please remember to leave your e-mail address if it’s not visible in your profile.

Want or need extra entries? Check out how to grab em’ below! (Mandatory Entry must be complete for these to count)

1. Become a public follower of my blog (2 extra)

2. Follow me on twitter @sgrant2005 and tweet this giveaway (can be done daily)

3. Subscribe to my feed via a reader

4. Blog about this giveaway with a link to this post and to Time Timer be sure to leave me a link (5 extra)

Giveaway ends Dec 07, 2010 @ midnight CST. Winner will be chosen at random, using random.org and contacted by e-mail and has 48 hrs to respond before a new winner is chosen.

This review is based strictly my opinion. Others may have a different opinion with the product listed above. I did not receive any product as compensation nor did I receive any monetary compensation for this post, the company is providing the giveaway product in return for this post.