May I please be excused? Thank you.

Getting kids to pick up after themselves around the house can be a chore in and of itself. To make the task a little more palatable, Procter & Gamble's Home Care division—made up of the Swiffer, Dawn, Mr. Clean, Cascade and Febreze brands—devised the Good Clean Fun program. According to Maurice Coffey, Swiffer brand manager, the mission was "to provide moms with safe, fun and interesting ways to teach children the satisfaction of a clean, organized home."

The P&G initiative is just one of several of the new generation of 'mother's helper' type products. With the rise of two working-parent and single-parent households, families often have less quality time together. And with so much to juggle for parents in the day-to-day routine, sometimes the very act of teaching kids responsible behavior may inevitably fall by the wayside. Manufacturers are following suit with product that is creating a presence in both the mass-market and specialty arenas.

P&G's Good Clean Fun program includes creating the Chores & Rewards Activity Calendar, which enables parents to keep track of their child's accomplishments. From January 2004 through June 2005, caregivers can make note of which chores their kids should undertake on designated days. Colorful stickers are placed over each completed assignments and after a series of tasks are completed, parents are able to reward their little ones with a sticker from The Cat in the Hat.

P&G decided to partner with Universal Studios on this project because The Cat in the Hat motion picture complemented the Good Clean Fun campaign. Says Coffey, the core message is teaching that one should always clean up after one's messes.

Product is being merchandised at retail via a national in-store promotion. Consumers purchase select P&G brands, which entitles them to select premiums, like the activity calendar and The Cat in the Hat plush toys from Play Along. Participating retailers will be provided with point-of-purchase materials, like window signage and movie-themed posters.

"With parents hard-pressed to spend quality learning time with their kids in the home, this calendar is a great resource to spend time with their children and teach them the importance of responsibility," Coffey tells PLAYTHINGS.

Life lessons can be effective teachers and, in some cases, can serve as a catalyst for a new invention. After witnessing a rude exchange between a father traveling with his children and a businessman who accidentally took his seat aboard a plane, Craig Boilla realized that many families might benefit from a crash course in proper etiquette. This lead to his founding the Etiquette Awareness Plus (EAP), a company devoted to fulfilling this very mission.

Boilla introduced a range of products—from a board game to flashcards—designed to simplify the art of teaching manners, while at the same time, making it a fun, interactive experience for parents and kids alike. "Rudeness has run its course and these items can help today's parent change all that," he tells PLAYTHINGS. Aimed at 6- to 12-year-olds, Etiquette in a Flash Flashcards are comprised of 50 cards and answer such queries as when it's proper to hold the door for someone (anytime you can) or what size bites of food one should take (small ones). Boilla says that product can used by kids alone or with their parents, and is great at home or on the go.

While product continues to do well at retail, EAP is also making these items available through other distribution channels. He tells PLAYTHINGS that the flashcards are currently being used as the format for the Brownie troops "Try It" Manners badge in Oklahoma (where EAP is based). And at press time, the company had just received approval from the California Department of Education (K-8), so teachers will be able to order them for usage in their classrooms.

Also tapping into a market void is Manners to Go, a portable kit for kids ages 6-12 that contains thank-you notes, placemats with place setting guides and other helpful tools that serve as a primer for etiquette practices. The product is the brainchild of Lisa Taylor Richey, a former marketing executive who, after running classes for corporate professionals via her organization The American Academy of Etiquette, decided to bring her expertise to a different demographic: children.

"I wanted to create something they'd respond to," she tells PLAYTHINGS. "Social skills are not from judgment, but how you can feel good about being kind to others."

Richey wanted to ensure that her product is appealing to both parents and kids alike. Packaged in eye-catching, bold hues and featuring attractive graphics, Manners to Go includes things like colorful stickers which, she believes, "grab a child's interest" and add an element of fun to tasks like writing thank you notes—which might otherwise be perceived as a chore. "Even if a thank you note is just a scribble, it's really all that matters," she remarks.

Parents may be more interested in the kit's other components, such as the instructions on how to write a proper thank you note, the placemats with guides as to where utensils should be placed or the set of 25 flash cards, which can help teach the right way to leave a telephone message or how to conduct yourself during a sporting event.

Since its initial November 2003 market debut, and official launch at this year's American International Toy Fair, buyer reception has exceeded Richey's expectations. She says that a number of ASTRA member retailers came by to check out product during the show, while Barnes & Noble and Border's Books have also expressed interest. Her current customer base includes high-end gift and toy stores in Philadelphia and New York, as well as assorted Learning Express and Neiman-Marcus locations.

"I just had an event at Neiman's," Richey tells PLAYTHINGS, "where I used the flash cards with a group of children to create a story. Along with the kit's tools comes the opportunity to host etiquette classes," she adds—a big plus for the retailer wanting to construct a unique in-store event. And like Boilla's EAP work with educational institutions, Pa. area schools have approached Richey about using Manners to Go "because there is such a strong focus on character development [in the kit]."

While Manners to Go is aimed primarily at the child, Richey is quick to point out that her intention is not for the product to be a baby-sitter. "The goal is to have an interactive parent/child experience," she stresses. "It's really up to the parent to provide the proper guidance for their child when using this tool."