Nothing is more frustrating than having a buyer with children who get bored and start whining half way through your tour of homes.  So, I have devised a plan to keep the kids busy and feeling like they are a part of the selection process of their next home.

Here's the plan:

I prepare a "treasure hunt" for the kids to play while in each house.  On a piece of paper I place a photo of each house we are to visit.  These are usually easy to copy from the MLS listing.  Under the photo I prepare a list of items to find such as the number of ceiling fans in the house, how many bathrooms are there, how many stories, how many lightbulbs are not working, etc.  Maybe a list of 10 things.  Each home has its own list.  I place these sheets on a clipboard and provide the kids pencils.  While mom and dad are touring the home, the kids set out on their quest to find the answers to each of the questions on each house.  At the end of the tour, I get them to show me their answers (of course, there's no grade on them...its just for fun), and I may provide a special prize for the child who has the most answers on each of the properties.  This gives the kids something to do and allows mom and dad a chance to really look at each home without having to keep the kids occupied.  And, when the kids take the pages home, it gives the parents a reminder of each property and the kids a sense of being a part of choosing their favorite house which could be their new home. 

On each of the pages, I make sure that my photo, name, and contact information is prominently placed at the bottom.