"sleep clock" for toddlers - anyone use one?

We are having a lot of sleepless nights in our house and it's doing my head in!

I cannot convince DS2 that between the hours of 12.30am and 4.00am mummy and daddy would like to sleep. It's not that he's resisting sleep, he is wide awake not at all sleepy and makes a hell of a noise playing in his room (or up and down the hall or jumping on our bed or all of the above).

I considered tying him to his bed and gagging him .....okay, not seriously, but it did cross my mind.... :hide:

He goes to bed at around 7.30 each night. I've tried keeping him up later but it makes no difference. He is up for the day anytime after 5am but always before 7am (even with a midnight two hour play).

During the day he will run out of batteries around 12ish -so I usually give him lunch by 11.45 (they do this at childcare too). He will sleep for 2 hours or so.

I have tried weaning out this day sleep but it doesn't work. He will literally fall asleep in the middle of what he's doing - it's like his batteries actually run out.

He is a very active little boy and keeps us well and truly on our toes.

I'm hoping that he's just going through a developmental stage and will go back to sleeping through the night.

Back to my original question - does anyone use/have a sleep clock and, would they recommend one?

whats a sleep clock?

Yep we use the globtrotter one, have one since DD2 was 18 months, love it and works a treat, there are several threads about it too

They help your toddlers learn when it's time to get out of bed - some show a moon image when it's "sleep" time then the sun when it's "awake" time.

Do you mean a Groclock? We have one for DS but he doesn't really get it yet. Having said that, I haven't tried to explain it again for a while. We gets excited when he sees his "sun's up" though so he does partially get the concept.

I have a Gro clock and love it - DS was getting out of bed at around 5 = now we have it set for 6:45 and he stays in bed even if he wakes up before that until "the sun comes up". With DD she is a bit older and we have her normal alarm clock set for 45 early so she knows she has to stay in bed until it says 6 - not so successful with her but she will come in our bed between 6 onwards and sometimes fall asleep again so it's not too much of a hassle. Good luck and I highly recommend it!

Yes, we have MoMo, the monkey sleep training clock. Our 4.5 yr old and nearly 3 yr old share a bedroom and were getting up earlier and earlier. First it was 5:30, then 5, then 4:40, racing down to our room and jumping into bed with us. We had DD in May and decided that we didn't need the boys waking us all up that early. At first I wasn't sure if it would work or not, but both boys now stay in their room and in their beds til MoMo opens his eyes. most of the time. I bought it online and it's the best money we've spent.

LOL, we have the same kid!
We got the gro clock.
Love love love it, only bummer is, you have to set it everynight.
Worked a charm here, we now have the absolute bliss of sleeping in till the grand ole time of 5.30 am:lol:
Do you think your DS is old enough to "get" the concept? I am not sure ours would have a year ago.
Still, get one anyways, you will prolly use it later on. :)

We had one for DD since she was about 18mths. Didn't really get it at that age but we just started saying it "Say goodnight sun, look the moon is up, the stars are out! Now you stay in bed and stay quiet until the sun comes up!" and eventually she got it. DS got one for his second birthday (so just recently) and he already gets it, thanks to saying goodnight to DD's sun when reading books etc with her and DH in DD's room. He wasn't quite getting the morning thing though until just the last few weeks - I hear him chattering away around 6am (when DH leaves, I think DS is a light sleeper like mummy) then he comes skitttering down the hall to our room and announces "Mummy, the sun's up! Wake up time!"

Definitely recommend one.

Gro clock here too....love it! They are expensive but worth it..I do know of children that it hasn't worked for tho!! I think it depends on the child and their age! Even two can be too young for some!

We have a gro clock too. Works great. But she was about 2.5 when she really started to get it. We don't have to reset it every night. Just press the button and the sun goes down.
Sometimes I hear her in the morning cheering because the suns up and she can get out of bed!

Gro clock in this family too and purchased from UK on Ebay was half the price of Aussie purchase. Came with Aussie adapter so saved me having to go and buy one. PM me if you want the link but easy to find once you search.

DS just about to turn 3 and was waking in middle of night most nights and in his words "coming to join you!" Sweet but boy does he kick in his sleep!

Hasn't stopped him completely but he definitely gets the concept annoucing to me today that the sun was up and I had to WAKE UP TOOOOOOO!

They're very cute and we got some glow in the dark stars as well so enforce the night time is for stars and sleeping the sun is for being awake concept.

Definitely recommend. Good luck.

Okay Cass I think we have the same child! Needless to say toothpicks to hold up our eyelids during the work day are a current trend here :(
Thanks for posting as I was wondering the same about 3.30am this morning!

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Okay Cass I think we have the same child! Needless to say toothpicks to hold up our eyelids during the work day are a current trend here :(
Thanks for posting as I was wondering the same about 3.30am this morning!

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Oh, sorry, I must have woken you as I was getting into bed :rofl:

We (I and DS2) were up at 1.30 until he finally (finally, thank you thank you thank you) went to sleep at 3!

Thanks everyone who posted. I was looking at the Gro Clock and, although it's expensive, I think it's totally worth it. I did look at the one with the monkey who closes his eyes but DS2 is fascinated with monkeys and will probably just play with the darn thing all night trying to open its eyes - it is cute though.

I think it's definitely a case of he doesn't know when it's time to get out of bed. He wakes up so it must be morning - I found him in our pantry trying to raid the cornflakes at 2 (after I had already put him back to bed). I think winter makes it hard too. I mean, it's been dark anyway around 6 at least now it's getting a little lighter in the mornings.

Thanks again
Zombie mum

Its hard for the first few night, constantly putting them back in bed and telling them they have to wait till the sun comes up.
But the grow clock comes with a book and a demo mode so that you can explain it all to them before bed.
My DS still wakes at about 5, sometimes earier (we can hear him playing with his cars in bed lol) but he knows he is not allowed "up" until the sun comes up. So I dont really think it changes their sleeping habits per se, it just trains them to stay in bed until they see the sun. (but hey, that works for me :D )
Every morning without fail, we greet the day with the yelling of "the sun's come up!" Its so cute.

I may be a bit late, but I just saw this thread. We have an 'Ok to wake' clock from Aldi. It's a similar concept to the others, but instead of sun coming up, a soft green light comes on when it's time to get up. So we have it set for 6.45, and DS knows it's ok to get up when his 'clock goes green'. The light is soft enough not to wake him if he still needs to sleep, while at the same time being an easy cue for a toddler to grasp. Works well for us!

This thread has just convinced me to buy a gro clock. I literally just went and brought one off ebay. I'd heard about them before, but I decided I wanted it - NOW - as DD has decided it's 'morning' the past few nights (or should I say mornings) at 4:30. She will go back to sleep if we sleep on her floor, but I like my bed lol. I know she might be a bit young, but it's worth a try and if it doesn't work now, it should in a few months time!

I def need to stress the gro clock does take time for some children to grasp the concept. But I found perseverance and reward charts for staying in their room till the sun came up worked here!
Now my 4 yr old who shares a room with his 2yr old sister has taught her to wait in bed or their room until the sun is up! I have a 15 week old that will get taught by his older bro and sis in time so it is a good investment!!!