Doodlestix?. What could THAT possibly be?,” I thought to myself when I got the email about potentially reviewing this product. It turns out, Doodlestix is something I couldn’t wait to try with my 6 year old son because it’s “a subscription based product that helps parents teach their children character traits and to ‘do the right thing.’”

From their website:  “We believe most parents want their children to do what’s right, but may not have a good support structure for teaching them. That’s where Doodlestix comes in! We felt that kids would be more likely to listen to instruction from another kid’s point of view and that this type of influence should come early in their development, before they are exposed to negative influences in the external environment.

Doodlestix is not intended to be the sole source of character education for your child. Rather, it is one tool in your toolbox to support and reinforce your efforts to teach your children. Doodlestix provides positive peer pressure for your child. Doodlestix is your child’s best friend!”
[Ed: If Doodlestix is your child's best friend, you need to get out more.]

How does it work? Children receive personalized letters from Doodlestix detailing one of Doodlestix’s experiences and how that experience demonstrates a character trait.

Who is Doodlestix exactly? He is a fictitious friend, who wants to be your child’s pen pal. Doodlestix is basically a good kid and wants to do what’s right, but often makes bad choices and suffers the consequences. Fortunately, Doodlestix learns a lot in this process and is willing to write your child frequently to teach them how to do what’s right and stay out of trouble.

Doodlestix discusses many common character traits such as honesty, integrity, courage, responsibility, trustworthiness, respect, fairness, and much, much more. Each character trait is presented with practical, everyday examples that will help your child understand not only what the character trait is, but, more importantly, why it is important to be that way.

You can select the frequency at which Doodlestix will write your child a letter, and you can have it personalized so that Doodlestix will mention specific things about your child such as their pet or favorite game or TV show. Doodlestix is written in a gender-neutral manner, so it is appropriate for both boys and girls. Also, while Doodlestix emphasizes basic moral and ethical principles, no one particular religious viewpoint is expressed, so it is appropriate for children of all faiths or without faith.

Along with each letter, parents receive a parent guide outlining the themes presented in the letter. The parent guide also includes several discussion questions the parent can use as a launch pad for a conversation about that particular character trait with their child.

Try it free for one month, and subscriptions start at just $1.95/month for email delivery and $2.95/month for postal mail delivery. To order or find more information (including how you can try the service for free for 30 days), visit http://www.doodlestix.com/ – by CPA Mom

NOTE: Contest entry is different than usual at the request of the sponsoring company. Please read carefully.

Win it! We’re giving away two, 12 month subscriptions of the Doodlestix “two letters per month” service – one to each of two randomly selected winners.

To enter, just leave a comment telling how you spread the word about Doodlestix before noon mst on December 17, 2008.

Update your Facebook status, blog, twitter, e-mail or IM your friends this URL:

http://www.theopinionatedparent.com/2008/12/10/doodlestix/

We’re working on the honour system here…karma will bite you in the butt if you enter without doing your part.

A short message like this should do the trick:

“Click here to read about Doodlestix, a cool parenting tool that’s being featured on one of the leading product review blogs for parents, The Opinionated Parent.”

CONTEST CLOSED & WINNERS EMAILED – Congrats to Julie & Jennifer!