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Original poster

Gro-clocks - are they worth it?

16 replies

Pookythebear · 21/06/2017 13:01

DS (5) has always been an early riser. I don't think the warm weather and light mornings are helping but we've been seeing 4.30-5am wake ups for the last week or 2... he's a noisy bugger too as in 'I CANT SLEEP! CAN I GO DOWNSTAIRS/HAVE A DRINK' and so on. Then our 20 month old starts to wake (who then ends up hideously grumpy as he's more of a 7am kinda guy), so we end up having to be downstairs monitoring the younger one.

Does anyone have any thoughts, and more to the point any success with gro-clocks? I've put off buying one until now as I can just imagine him ignoring it. But feel that he's at the age it might work along with a small reward of some sort. It doesn't help that I think he needs the loo (cue more clattering and flushing) around that time, but I guess there isn't much we can do about that. Confused

All help gratefully received!

OP posts:
ASDismynormality · 21/06/2017 13:03

I bought one for my son around age 5/6, it really did help more than I would have expected.

Petalbird · 21/06/2017 13:07

Helped with the DSC who liked to get up at silly o clock the youngest was 5 at the time. They can have a sweet the next day if they are silent until 7.15 and usually now they sleep till then took a few visits though

Original poster
Pookythebear · 21/06/2017 13:11

Thanks, that's really good to know. I think it's a good age for them to 'get it'. I know it can work on younger but I know he wouldn't have had a clue, say 2 years ago.

OP posts:
BlahBlahBlahEtc · 21/06/2017 13:12

I bought one to help with my dds 5 o clock mornings. Most days she's in bed until 6:30 mow but ocasionally if she wakes up before the sun on the clock she shouts at me from her bed instead Hmm

On the whole it has helped though!

FairyPenguin · 21/06/2017 13:18

I would suggest just a normal digital clock would be fine to be honest, as at age 5, you can teach him it's not time to get up unless the clock starts with a 6, for example. We did have a Gro-Clock when ours were younger but moved onto digital clocks when they started school. Although you do have a younger child so I guess you could always buy a Gro-Clock now and use it with the younger DC after eldest has grown out of it.

FairyPenguin · 21/06/2017 13:20

PS we wouldn't say they can't get up. We said we didn't want them waking us or each other up if it wasn't time to get up but they could go to the loo (by themselves) and play quietly in their room. Worked really well.

Serafinaaa · 21/06/2017 14:01

My son is 2.4 and doesn't make a sound until the sun comes up on his gro clock at 7am. It's changed our lives!

Soubriquet · 21/06/2017 14:04

Yes. I took the plunge on dd's 4tj birthday as she was beginning to say it's morning every time the sun was in the sky...so too damn early

Not she stays in be until the sun is on her clock. Definitely a good investment

Original poster
Pookythebear · 21/06/2017 14:21

Thanks all! This really sounds like it's worth buying. Big visions for a 7am 'lie in' at the weekend...

OP posts:
TeaBelle · 21/06/2017 14:23

Buy one! It had changed dd from 6am to 7:15 waking. If awake she has a small basket of easy puzzles to occupy her and will only call me once the sun is up. Plus they have a reasonable resell value too

MrsBadger · 21/06/2017 14:25

Yes. And they do have a digital clock too.
(In the early days DS would sometimes come in to us and say 'Mummy, the clock's broken - I'm awake but the sun isnt!' 🙄 )

TaggySits · 21/06/2017 14:35

I was going to get one for DD but thought they were very expensive, so I bought a timer plug instead and plugged a lamp into it. Taught her that she had to stay in bad until the light came on.

Advantages were that a 3-pack of timer plugs cost around half what a gro-clock was and I used another one for DS but in the evening (i.e. he can read/play quietly in his room until his light goes out). Fantastic job!

CwtchMeQuick · 21/06/2017 14:40

We've started using one for DS who's just turned 5 as he was getting up at 5am. It was a battle to start with and he worked out how to turn the sun on early Hmm but now he knows if he doesn't wake us until the sun is up he's allowed to play on the iPad once he's ready for school. We let him get himself a snack and watch tv quietly in his room from 6am, as long as he doesn't come in to us until 7. Seems to be working fairly well now. It's well worth the money if it means you don't get shouted constantly from 5am!

FemaleDilbert · 21/06/2017 14:44

Both of mine got the hang of them around 3 years old and they are worth their weight in gold

MadameJosephine · 21/06/2017 14:55

I've got one you can have if you want it? Currently having a sort out before I move house at the weekend

Skisunsnow · 21/06/2017 15:00

Yes definitely! Both of mine had them at 2, and got the hang of them pretty quickly. They're pretty simply, just knowing the difference between blue and yellow, night and day. Occasionally we might change the wake up time by half hour to give us a little lie in and generally they don't notice 😬

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