If you use a gro clock, how long did it take to work?

[Thurlow]

Just started (night 3) with a gro clock for our 2.5yo as she's suddenly started waking up the better part of an hour early and is clearly missing the sleep by the end of the day. It's set for the time she used to normally wake up. I'm not expecting miracles and am 50/50 whether she will get it, though she does tend to get things like this pleasantly biddable child sometimes! However while she gets that "blue means go to sleep", she seems a little vaguer on the concept of "waiting till its yellow sunshine to shout for mummy".

I'm guessing it is a week or two or going in in the mornings and pointing out that it isn't yellow sunshine yet. But any stories on how long it took a 2.5yo(ish) to get the concept?

Til he was 3. Sorry! Tried all sorts, including choc button rewards for waiting til the sun but in all honesty he just didn't get it til he was nearly 3. Worked well for several months but now at nearly 4 he's happy if he made it til the sun but doesn't stop him getting up if not.

Worthwhile purchase anyway for those months and we keep trying.

My 2 yo was waking at around half 5; we set the grow clock for half 5 for a couple of mornings (so it was sunny when she woke up) we then put the time back 10 minutes every couple of days until we got to 7am! She got it straight away! She quite often wakes before 7 but she sits in her bed singing so I'm not too bothered!
The gro clock is great, sometimes you can hear her wake up and she must look at the clock, see that it's still nighttime and then she rolls over and goes back to sleep!

my 2yp gets the concept but has also figured our how to turn it off... but she does play quietly in her room with her sister until I go and get them.

(sister is younger and in a cot and therefore not culpable in this instance)

It took ds a week or 2. He loves it now and sticks to the rules! You can lock it too when your dc begins to understand how to tamper with it. Ds is 3.5 and we've just started using the lock.

We recently had to have a chat with him though to explain that if he's ever poorly he doesn't have to wait for the sun to come up and should come on and tell us. This was after he projectile vomited all over his bedding and just lay there and cried. Bless him. Luckily we have not yet ditched the monitor!

How do you lock it? I gave up ages ago as dd just presses the buttons on it. Can't put it out of her reach as it's just asking for her to attempt some dangerous climbing.

I gave up after a year. DS was 3 and reset it by the second day. A year of explaining , begging and bribing all failed to work.

I loved that gro clock and the sleepy farm story.

You lock it by pressing and holding down the downwards arrow button once you have switched it to night time mode.

Mine was using it properly after about ten days but we set it for earlier than the time we wanted but later than what she was waking. So, we wanted her to wake at seven but she woke at six. We did a week of 6.10, a week of 6.20, a week of 6.45 and then on to seven.

She gets a treat if she stays quietly in her room til the sun comes up (usually picks an ice pop!)

A little cross flashes once underneath the star's eye so you know it's locked.

Oh and I put it on a high shelf.

Thank you, I might dig it out again tomorrow

Ds is 2.2 and was waking at 430 so I got one of these a few weeks ago. I changed it by 10 mins increments every day, and spent the first few days of melodramatically going in to check the clock to see if it was morning yet. It only took about a week I would say, and now I have it up to 645 and feel like a new woman

Thanks everyone! I suspect we might be using it slightly wrong - DD has previously been a great sleeper until 7.30 but has started waking at 6.30 (I know this is still late for some people, sorry!) and is clearly tired and needing the sleep. I did some reading and it might be over tiredness so will try a few early nights to see if that restarts it.

Anyway, I'd set it for 7.15 as that as still earlier than usual but she has been waking at 6.45ish and I've been trying to explain to her about the clock. Today I resettled her about 7 (point of principle even though I was already up) and then she did wait for the clock, and when I went in I made a big song and dance about how she'd waiting for the yellow sun.

However it sounds like I might need to set it for 6.45, wait for her to get it, and then start moving it forward? Is that right?

Well this morning I think she got it, and happily kept repeating "Yes!" when I asked her if she waited until the yellow sun was out... fingers crossed! Thanks for the tips.

Ahh brill. I know it sounds over the top, but the gro clock has changed our lives. I was struggling to shower and get ready as I never knew when ds would wake (I'm a lone parent) plus the lack of sleep and early starts were starting to really affect my mental health. I'm like a new woman now!

Yes, we have that problem too! She used to definitely sleep past the time it took me to shower, but now I don't know when she will wake up. Our bathroom is downstairs and often DP is sleeping off some horrible night shift so I've been running around like an idiot trying to catch DD making noise before she wakes him!

I think I heard her sort of wake up about 30 mins before the clock was set but I think she then snuggled back down.

So did you leave it a few days on his normal time, and then start changing it a little at a time?

We've had them for three years and they've had no effect in terms of encouraging the children to sleep for longer. They do lose their weekend-DVD privileges if they come out of their rooms before their suns are awake though, so at least it gives them an idea of when it's ok to make noise.

Yup, ds was waking about 430 so the first time I did it was 5am (which was prob too big a jump but I was desperate!) then I changed it by 10/15 min increments. We are up to 7am as of today and it feels amazing!

Ds still wakes early but checks his clock and snoozes / chatters / reads books. Then he shouts "mummy!! Sun!!!! Wake up" and I wander through pretending to be thrilled it is morning

Heh The applause when they get something like that right is one of the silliest things about being a parent, isn't it?

The only thing I'm a bit concerned about is DD likes her room as black as night so she can't read or play when she wakes up as there is no light! Hopefully she will snooze - it's not my sleep that is suffering here, fortunately, but hers.

Hope you DS keeps this up!