Surviving the Duelling Years

My kids fight. 
I like to think of it more as duelling, standing up one against the other each aspiring to be the victor.  With their eye on the end of the battle prize where they can claim that special seat next to mum or that supped up matchbox car with the cool exhaust.  As a parent you have a couple of options;  retreat to the other end of the house, pretend they are the neighbours kids or give them some tactics to resolve those daily skirmishes by themselves.  NO ADULTS REQUIRED.

The main goal of these daily battles for my 3 boys is a win-win solution.

 I win – no retreating required.   They win – fairness restored.

Here are some of my sanity tactics that I have devised for some the most annoying battles.

1.       I Get Shotgun! 

The throne next to the driver’s seat, the most wanted seat in the world. Kids act as if they would instantly be knighted if only they could beat their siblings to this idolized seat.  I guess they are really competing for the love and affection of the queen mum.  But, you can’t pick who gets the front seat, that would be deemed as picking a victor and you don’t want to hear the bickering.  So you get them to claim ownership.  How?

One way trip – first to call shotgun gets it (i.e. school drop-off)

Round trip – first to call shotgun gets it on the way there, the other gets it on the way back.  More than two kids, then two call outs. 

 

2.       That’s My Toy!

It’s the exhausting never ending, “That’s my toy!”  “No it’s mine!” “Nu-huh!” There are a couple of tactics to handle this scenario;

·         Write their name on every toy they get.  Works great with matchbox cars.

·         Just take it away, on the spot.  No questions asked.  They will probably forget the toy ever existed.

·         Although this won’t work for Lego’s, it’s just too many pieces to label or take away.  I try to get them to barter, where a Lego man can be exchanged for a couple of swords.  Sometime this diversion tactic works.

 

3.       Not My Cup!

We use to have abandoned cups all over the house.  Of course they are nobody’s, right?  So nobody has to pick them up, right?  Wrong.  We now have cups that change names, so when you get a cup from the cupboard you change it to your name and voila (wah lah) it’s yours.  Nobody goes away. 

 

So it’s peaceful now, right.  Wrong again.  Siblings will always duel; it teaches them how to resolve conflict.  They learn to compromise and cooperate with each other, a great life lesson for the workforce.  Little SpongeBob’s in the making. 

 

by Shelly, mom of four and designer of the MyColourCup and owner of Twistid Products.

Extra Kids? Giveaway

Extra Kids? Giveaway

When taking care of several kids in a group enviroment it is often hard to keep track of each kids cup. MyColourCup with icons is great for daycare or those extra kids that always show up at your house. Each kid gets their own coloured icon and they use that cup everyday. No having to find that one cup for a particular kid because all MyColourCups can be changed to who is using the cup. Great when you have lost a cup. Combined them with the MyColourCup with colours you can have 12 kids in care.

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Sweepstakes Ends: November 24, 2011 @ 12:00 pm (CST)

Sponsored by Twist-id Products, designer and online retailer of the MyColourCup. The cup that changes names and makes ownership easy.

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MyColourCup in Anthills Smart 100 Most Innovative Products

We Need Your Vote


MyColourCup has been named as one of Australia's 100 most innovative products, in Anthills Smart 100 awards, which is one of the largest innovation awards of its kind in Australia. We would love for the MyColourCup to be in the top of the Smart 100 Reader's Choice index. Its up to the public to vote. If you haven't already voted, it would be great if you could help out.
Simply head over to this webpage and leave a comment, Facebook 'Like' or 'Tweet'.    Thanks heaps!

http://www.mycolourcup.com/

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Startup Story

Everyone has a story, a story of how they got to where they are now which is filled with childhood memories, life experiences, and personal accounts. I had to reflect for quite some time to put the pieces of my life together to see how I ended up creating a family kitchenware product.

I can say I was influenced by my grandmother, a top regional Tupperware distributor. My drive and determination came from years of dedication and commitment in competitive swimming. Twenty-five years in engineering related fields gave me that curiosity to solve problems. Four kids who inspired me with a problem to solve.

When I reflected on a childhood memory I recall visiting my grandmother and having mock Tupperware parties. She would show us all the prizes she had earned; jewelry, gold plated pen/pencil set, and a Kimball piano. Growing up we played with the latest Tupperware toys and when my sisters and I were older we had Tupperware auctions from the boxes she would send filled with beautiful plastic bowls, cups, stacking canisters, salt & pepper shakers and all those kitchen gadgets. I loved that tiny Tupperware bowl key ring with the removal lid. I believe my childhood experience helped me to create a exceptional product.

I was interviewed by StartUp Smart last week and it really made me sit down and think about why I created a version of a product that has been around since before Christ. Looking back on the history of the cup the paper disposable cup came along in 1906 to combat the spread of germs caused by drinking from a communal cup. Plastic cups arrived in the sixties and the nineties brought variations of the cup through colour, texture, application and decoration. But none have brought another function (dynamic personalization) for the cup, until the MyColourCup. I envision the MyColourCup as the next evolution of the cup that will become a household name. This is my new drive and my determination to make this vision become true.

Read the interview by StartUp Smart; http://www.startupsmart.com.au/growth/start-up-profiles/2011-03-14/mycolourcups.html

Check out the next evolution of the cup:  http://www.mycolourcup.com/

MyColourCup Goes to DayCare - Part 2

 Twist-id Products conducted a successful trial of the MyColourCup Childcare Cup System at the Gap Community Day Care in Alice Springs in Nov-Dec 2010. The objective of the trial was to see if the MyColourCup would be a good option for childcare centres to manage getting drinks for their children in their care.

A system was used that incorporated a colour coded cup scheme, a colour coded tiered placement rack, and removable ink to apply names.

The children were easily able to locate and identify their own cups. The children were grouped by colours in groups of 6. The children had to know their colour, find their coloured rack tier and then locate their coloured cup with their name on it within a group of 6 cups.

The day care workers reported that the system was easier than their previous way of providing drinks to the children. They spent less time trying to locate a single cup with a child’s name on it, which was a daily occurrence. The children showed more responsibility for their own cup. The coloured tier rack took up less space and provided all the drinking cups in one place.

The removable ink used to write the children’s names on the cups was a bit messy and the ink took too long to dry. A continued investigation of different types of ink/ink remover for the cups names was conducted during the trial.  A printable ink was found that could be initially applied to the label with a printer and removed with a different agent. Subsequent names could then be applied with a permanent marker and removed with the new removing agent. Further investigation would need to be conducted on the ink/ink remover for future applications.

 It was noted that during the trial the cups would remain on their initial name and rarely get changed. So in that instance any cup would be sufficient as long as it incorporated a way to remove departing children's names.

Reusable cups in a childcare centre benefit the centre, the children, and the environment. When used in conjunction with a colour coded scheme it makes the logistics of providing drinks to children easier. The children claim responsibility of their own cups which provided a water/energy saving by not having to wash cups between uses (breakfast, morning/afternoon tea, lunch).

Does the MyColourCup have a place in childcare centers? I would have to say yes. Another use for the MyColourCup colour coding cup system would be within a large family.  Large families tend to use cups, wash them and put them away in a cupboard.  The changing of names would be more frequent.

The next project is to find a large family to trial this colour coded version of the MyColourCup.  And investigate the removable ink/ink remover for future applications.

MyColourCup - the personalized plastic cup