Some days parenting comes down to a very simple question. How do you get your kids to do something they don’t want to do? So we come up with tricks, treats, threats and cheats. Sometimes they work, then they don’t … and because there are always days when nothing works it’s useful to have a few tricks up your sleeve that you only use in real emergency situations.

One of the ultimate tricks (we found) is using an egg timer (or any timer / alarm clock). A timer suddenly adds a sense of urgency to a given situation. When it goes off there’s a clear signal that something else needs to happen. Combined with an element of competition (“I bet you can’t get dressed before the timer goes off”) often works a treat for ambitious preschoolers who are only too keen to show off.

These days you don’t even need to bother buying yourself a timer since practically all phones have one – and you can even customize the ringtone they play when the time is up. Then again there’s something intriguing about a tradition hour glass or an old fashioned wind up timer (or tick tock alarm clock). Either way we think timers are just fantastic and we believe every dad needs one close by at all times!