gro clock

[pipoca]

Just ordered one for DS (3 next month) to try to get him to stay in bed past 6am. Anyone used one, are they good or have I just bought an expensive nightlight?

No quite good and might work for you. My 4 year old knows to stay in bed until the sun rises - she just doesn't! They are good though for when kids not ready to tell the time and at least they give you something to use as a reference point when you are working on wake up times.

that's what I think might happen that he will understand the concept but just get up anyway.

Yep!

ours works , buys us half an hour - boys wake up at 6am, chat to each other, then shout "it's yellow!" at the tops of their voices when the sun comes out at 6.30am .

They're 2.8yrs and 1.4yrs btw .

Worked a treat for DS1 (had it since about 3.6).

We have the kidsleep clock which is a similar concept. Works really well for my 4.5 YO and her 2.5YO sister 'gets it'. DD1 will stick to it almost all the time whereas DD2 sometimes comes in to us early (once or twice a week so pretty good)

Also a VERY good thing if they wake in the middle of the night - we just say bunny/hippo sleeping, DD1/DD2 sleeping and at night say 'see you when bunny/hippo wakes up'

I haven't used a gro clock but the concept of "sleeping till your light comes on" has worked in our house.

We used a cheap timer attached to a dim light (after purchasing expensive but rather useless bunny clock which cannot be easily seen in the dark ) and worked a treat for DS1 and looks promising for DS2.

DD on the other hand is much more resistant to being controlled and it just made her cross if she was still asleep when it came on.

With DS1, we started it 5 minutes before he was usually getting up, then moved it gradually. He was 25 months at the time. With DS2, at 23 months, we just went straight for 6am (was waking at 5.20 / 5.30) with the intention of staying in his room with him till the light came on if he woke. We have had some mornings of him waking with his light, some sleeping longer and a couple of wakings shortly before.

Yes, they work. Better than the kidsleep clock, IME - it's the countdown aspect of it that does the trick for us - the children can tell the difference between the middle of the night and nearly time to get up and respond much better to dozing for a short time than being told they just can't get up now. IYSWIM.

Best thing we ever bought. My children have never got up before the sunshine (except for toilet obviously) and seem to really like the coundown of the stars. If they wake up they can tell if its still the middle of the night.

Bunny clocks are rubbish by the way. Children can't see them in the dark and mine just wanted to kiss the bunny goodnight and fiddle with its ears which buggers up the timing!

It didn't work for DS. He was 3.3 when I bought it. Within 2 days he had figured out how to unlock it and make the sun rise.

For some reason I still set it every night (we've had it for a year now) but he has never taken any notice of it. He sleeps in if he's really tired, otherwise he's pottering about just after 6am.