portable dvd playerOne of the most useful devices we have around the house is a portable DVD player. We have found that having a portable DVD player solves a lot of sibling squabbles about who gets to watch, when. We bought our portable DVD player with a different idea in mind, but it seems to be solving that problem many parents are faced with: how to placate both kids and have a little peace in the family. When a viewing conflict comes up, we let the kids draw straws, and whoever gets the short end gets to watch the TV show or movie on the portable DVD player. If one of the kids consistently draws the shorter straw, we step in and even things out. We keep a tally of who has watched what on the portable DVD player so we can make sure that the all important fairness reigns in our home when it comes to entertainment. Raising kids is challenging enough so we prefer to pick our battles, and if they each want to watch something different, that's OK with us.