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Original poster

Would a sleep trainer clock help DS?

28 replies

GoldenSnitch · 24/02/2010 20:31

I'm thinking about getting a Grobag Clock or similar sleep trainer clock for my DS who will be 3 in March.

He's always been a brilliant sleeper and for a long, long time, his usualy get up time was around 7am which was more than fine with us.

But then 9 weeks ago, his sister was born and his sleep has been all messed up. He's getting up in the middle of the night and also waking in the morning somewhere between 5.30 and 6.

I know the early waking is no doubt due to his sister - she's in our room and I think he's jealous of that and at first her crying would wake him in the night but now he's getting up when she's fast asleep! His behaviour has been very different since she's been born too. He was very angry with us and his potty training went out the window but he seems to be mostly over that now and has been dry for about a week and much less agressive and shouty.

I know it may very well resolve itself eventually but it feels like this has been going on forever already and I'm worried that the longer he gets up early, the more routine it will become and the harder it will be to resolve. Plus, I think most of his remaining behaviour issues in the day are due to him being tired so he could really do with the extra sleep now. He had a 45 minute nap today and he hasn't napped during the day since I was about 3 months pregnant! I doubt he would have slept if we hadn't been out but he fell asleep in the car on the way home from Toddler Group. He starts Preschool in a month and he'll really struggle if he's tired.

So I'm considering getting him one of those sleep trainers. Something special and 'grown up' for him that might encourage him to stay in bed for a little longer so we can all get some more sleep and all be happier in the day.

It's definitely not DD waking him anymore as he's getting up at completely different times to her - hence me being so tired as I end up getting up to both of them - last night, he woke at 2am and she didn't wake for her night feed till 4am (she's only having 1 feed in the night most of the time now). He got up at 5.30, she woke at 6.30. I think it's just become a habit for him.

We've tried putting him to bed earlier and that helped a bit in that he's getting up less times but he's still getting up and he's still waking early. He has black out blinds although it's so dark at 5am ATM, he can't think it's daytime!! We've stopped letting him in our bed (DD really was waking him then) and we've tried to stop getting into his bed - although at the 2nd 3rd get up, it's hard not to when we know it'll keep him in bed.

Do you think a sleep trainer would help? Any other tactics which might help if not?

OP posts:
theyoungvisiter · 24/02/2010 20:38

I could have written your post 9 months ago - we had exactly the same problem, down to DS2 being in with us.

We got the bunny clock (the light one - everyone says don't get the one with the ears because they click and wake the child up). It's worked very well, though we did have to institute a little bribery as well

It has also helped with the occasional nightmare as we tell him the bunny takes care of him and he likes that idea.

Original poster
GoldenSnitch · 24/02/2010 20:50

Thanks theyoungvisiter - I had visions of everyone telling me to get a grip and ride it out!

So glad the clock worked for you. Did it take long?

DS has never had a night light, is the clock very bright? I've read the grobag one has adjustable brightness which is why it appealed.

Thanks for telling me about the clicky ears too, will cross the rabbit one off my list. Was a bit owrried about how he'd check that one in the pitch dark anyway

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WhatWouldTyraDo · 24/02/2010 20:54

We had a bunny clock too. You have to teach them to use it, but it definitely helps them to understand IME. It took a few nights for him to get to grips with it. It's not bright at all.

crapdoc · 24/02/2010 20:54

the grobag one has adjustable brightness?? that'll teach me not to read the instructions. (worked a treat, by the way. worth every penny - but mine is currently as bright as a football stadium light!)

Original poster
GoldenSnitch · 24/02/2010 21:05

lol crapdoc

Apparently, the updated 2010 version of the grobag clock also lets you show the digital clock during the countdown "So for older children, they can now start to learn digital time, as well as look for the arrival of the sun!" But due to "unprecidented demand" they're ot in stock till the 31st March and I can wait another 6 weeks for sleep!!

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theyoungvisiter · 24/02/2010 21:06

DS never had a nightlight either and it did seem a little bit bright at first, although only slightly, and only because I was used to his room being pitch dark.

What I did was cut out a semi-circle of paper and put it between the light and the plastic insert (this sounds dangerous but the light doesn't get hot and the paper is nowhere near the bulb - it's hard to explain, but there's a bulb, then a plastic shield, then a removable plastic insert which has the picture of the bunny on).

This dimmed it down so that at night you could only just see the picture. I didn't put any paper behind the daytime half so that was much brighter.

In any case he started to get nightmares a few months later and actively requested a brighter light, so I removed the paper.

theyoungvisiter · 24/02/2010 21:10

I just read my post back and I really don't know if my convoluted paper explanation made any sense at all!

Basically we had this kind and you can see from the picture, the front has a kind of little handle you can lift off. I put a semicircle of paper behind that on the bottom half, then replaced the plastic picture.

Anyway you will probably find the light is not too bright at all - it's actually really, really dim even without the paper so I think I was being slightly OTT in retrospect!

theyoungvisiter · 24/02/2010 21:13

Oh and on the "did it take long" q, it didn't immediately work for us, basically because he didn't care.

He understood fairly quick that it wasn't daytime til the bunny woke up, but he just got us anyway, the only difference was that he went back to sleep more equably when the bunny was asleep.

It was only when we introduced (ashamed to say it!) a chocolate button for every night that he stayed in bed all night, til the bunny woke up, that things improved. After that he was sleeping til 6am within a week, and then I gradually fiddled the time until it went back to 6.30. That probably took another week. Then obviously we tailed off the buttons

Very bad, I know - but I felt on the scale of things one button a day wasn't going to kill him, whereas I might if I didn't get more sleep.

Original poster
GoldenSnitch · 24/02/2010 21:14

I have considered getting a character lamp (like a robot or a dog or something) and one of those timers you put between the socket and the plug, setting that to switch the light on as say, then telling him he can only get up when x is lit up?

That would keep his room dark at night - but would the sudden light at 7am wake him if he was miraculously asleep when it went off?

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crapdoc · 24/02/2010 21:17

I bought my grobad one a few weeks ago from boots - they delivered it to the store, i paid and ordered online.

However, I have just checked and have defintely binned the flipping instructions!! Anyone got any clue of how to dim the light? Would be nice to rid the hallway of the sellafield style ominous blue glow coming out from under DS's door....

Original poster
GoldenSnitch · 24/02/2010 21:18

Ha, yes! Buttons are a far happier option than a very tired and grotty parent

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crapdoc · 24/02/2010 21:19

sorry, Grobag, not grobad

theyoungvisiter · 24/02/2010 21:32

I am not sure about the lamp thing - I don't know if it would work as well as a visual reminder that it was night, if you know what I mean?

I am not sure that the absence of something is quite as easy to understand for a child. After all, he must know that it's dark, as you said in your OP, so it's obviously not that he thinks it's daytime.

The presence of a sleeping bunny was something easy and concrete for us to point to and say "look, the bunny is in bed, so you need to hop in as well".

It definitely sounds a LOT dimmer than the grobag one, you can't see any light at all from under DS's door when it's on. We've got it a little way away from his bed (because he learned how to fiddle the controls himself to make it day!) and you can't, for example, see whether he's got his eyes open or closed when it's on. It's that dim.

The other thing I forgot to say is that it's very important to get the setting right because the last setting is an alarm which crows like a cockeral and poor DS nearly had hysterics one day when I accidentally put it onto alarm by mistake and he got woken up by this mad electronic bird braying at him!

crapdoc · 24/02/2010 21:38

I may have been exaggerating slightly about the glow under the door.

Don't let me put you off the idea.

Original poster
GoldenSnitch · 24/02/2010 21:39

That's a very good point theyoungvisiter!

Hmm..been reading reviews and a few people have mentioned the bunny one being a problem because the children learn how to fiddle the controls. The Grobag one can be set to be tamper proof apparently.

I've also seen lots of stuff about build quality and issues getting bulbs for the rabbit one. But then I've seen people saying the grobag one is still bright even when dimmed.

Thinking I could maybe fix that with some coloured acetate in the dial if it's too bright though....

They both seem to have thier good and bad points.

If i get the grobag one crapdoc, I'll make sure I copy out the instructions for dimming the light for you

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crapdoc · 24/02/2010 21:44

Ta. You can lock the keys on the grobag one, I did read that bit before filing the instructions!

Original poster
GoldenSnitch · 24/02/2010 21:46

Right, I'm off to bed - I'm likely to be up in the night and early after all!!

Thank you all so much for your help.

Will probably order something in the morning - will let you know how it goes

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rookiemater · 24/02/2010 21:49

I second the votes for the Grobag, we had exactly the same problem when DS hit 3 years old, and he was such a good sleeper until then.

He is very good at waiting until "morning time" although DH got a bit too clever and got another clock so that DS had one which told him what time he could get up ( say about 6am) and what time he could disturb us at (7am weekdays, 7.30am weekends). Needless to say this didn't work so we are back to one clock.

Generally works well apart from times like this morning when DS burst through to tell us it was snowing at 5.30am this morning, however as we both needed to go to work this was actually quite helpful.

Oh and the nightlight aspect is good as when its dim I think its pretty dim, but also acts as a reassuring night light.

theyoungvisiter · 24/02/2010 21:53

I don't know about bulbs - they do give you a spare and ours hasn't gone in what - 10ish months? So we've never had to try to source one.

The build is very plasticky and light - I was shocked when I got it out of the box. For what it costs you think it will be quality and it feels like it came out of a cracker.

BUT having said that, it does the job perfectly and looks fine. It's just that it's spookily lightweight

We solved the switch fiddling thing by putting it on a bookcase and it can also be wall mounted so it wasn't a biggy.

Whatever you get - good luck! Take the time to practice first during the day, set the timer for a VERY achievable time for the first night, because you want him to start with an easy success to make him feel positive about it, and don't be afraid to break out those chocolate buttons

Original poster
GoldenSnitch · 25/02/2010 08:25

DS can already work the DVD Player and there is nowhere near a plug socket that we could put the clock that isn't reachable. I think tamper proof buttons might be a must

He slept all night last night but got up at 5.30! Managed to get him to play in his room till 6.30 but if i could just get another half an hour....

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Original poster
GoldenSnitch · 25/02/2010 12:07

Have ordered the Grobag one.

Paid extra for express delivery!!

Will post the directions for turning the brightness down when it arrives crapdoc

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crapdoc · 25/02/2010 12:45

Thank you!!I hope it works for you. lol at the express delivery

crapdoc · 25/02/2010 19:11

Just to say - I had a good fidget with the clock and have figured out the dimmer. Its a lot, lot darker now....phew!

Original poster
GoldenSnitch · 25/02/2010 21:12

That's a relief. I was getting quite worried that it'd be really bright!

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Original poster
GoldenSnitch · 26/02/2010 16:45

It's not here yet but DS randomly slept from 7 till 6.45am last night!

(DD did just gone 10pm till almost 6am too so I'm feeling fab today )

Don't tell me he's gone back to sleeping through just after I spent £30 on an clock!!

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