With the clocks going forward this spring getting young children to adjust to the change can be somewhat tricky and a lot of parents struggle with getting their children to adjust. Even I struggle to adjust myself! Something that is also really common with toddlers and preschoolers is night waking and early risers. 5.30am isn't the time we want to be waking up despite what our children think!
A lot of my friends tell me their children wake up really early in the morning, but what Little N does is wake up randomly in the middle of the night. It's not something that has bothered me too much, but now he is 3 years old it would be great if I could get him to go back to sleep until morning without me having to resettle him, especially as I also get up to settle J in the night too. We've been putting the Gro-clock to the test over the past few weeks to see if this could help gently encourage him to sleep a little longer.
The Gro-clock isn't a quick fix, but something that can gently help over time. The clock has a digital display which shows the time, and in the morning it has a yellow sunshine face whilst at bedtime is has a blue starry face with stars that count down until morning. Parents can set what time the sunshine face will appear and the idea is that children learn that when they see the sun they can get up, rather than just assume it's "morning" because it's light outside!
If you have an early riser the best way to use the Gro-clock is by adjusting it in increments to get them used to sleeping a little longer. For example, if they regularly wake at 5.30am then try setting the sun to appear at 5.30am to begin with and adjust it by 10-15 minutes, rather than setting it at 7am straight away as that's quite a big change for them to get used to.
The issue I have with Little N is that he wakes in the middle of the night, at least once but often twice. He needs resettling or he gets into my bed, where he then sleeps soundly until about 7am. I do love the cuddles, but with J (18 months) doing it too it can be really tiring and when they're both in my bed there isn't enough room for me! So my hope was that the Gro-clock would gently teach him that it is still bedtime and encourage him to go back to sleep instead of getting up.
He was very excited to have his own clock and was very proud of it. We set it all up and I showed him the two different faces, explaining that at nighttime the blue stars would count down until morning and when the sunshine appeared it meant it was time to get up. We made it part of our bedtime routine: after storytime Little N presses the button and we wave goodnight to the sun and hello to the stars. As he does this I remind him that if he wakes up and sees the blue stars, it's still bedtime, but if he sees the sun then he can get up.
Days 1-4: There was no change in how often Little N woke up, but that's okay. Instead of just putting him back to bed, each time I pointed to the Gro-clock and gently reminded him that if he sees the blue stars when he wakes then it is still bedtime and that the sun will appear when it is morning.
Day 5: No wake up! Little N woke up at just after 7am. I asked him what was on his clock and he said "yellow sun Mummy, it morning!" I can count on one hand the number of times that he has slept a whole night so this was something short of a miracle.
Day 6-7: Little N woke up once on both nights, but after settling back to bed with a little reminder about his clock he then slept until 7am.
Day 8: He woke up twice and then slept in my bed as we gave up trying. He was poorly though.
Day 9 onwards: He has been waking once each night, but once settled back to bed he is staying there until 7am. I have been reminding him of the clock and it is definitely helping because he's not getting up again after the first wake up.
As well as making the Gro-clock part of the bedtime routine, we've also made it part of our morning routine, too. All I do is ask Little N whether there is a sun or stars on his clock, and when he says that there is a sun I ask him what the sun means, to which he replies "morning!" It only takes a few seconds, but I think it helps reinforce that we get up when we see the sun on the clock. Things aren't perfect, of course, as it is still early days. Little N is still waking up once a night most nights but he is settling back to sleep much easier and is happy to then stay in his bed until morning. It has only been a few weeks of using the Gro-clock and I think things will continue to improve with consistency from us.
Do you have an early riser or a night waker? What are your tips?
*I was kindly sent a Gro-clock to see if it would help.
I'm glad the Gro-Clock has helped so far, hopefully it continues to do so. I'm definitely thinking of getting one.
ReplyDeleteWe've been using a Gro Clock with A since she was two and are still using it at 4 and a half. We love them so much we've even bought her brother one! x
ReplyDeleteWow! That's so good to see it is having an effect so quickly. Fingers crossed he starts to sleep through every night. It sounds like it won't be long until he's cracked it xx
ReplyDeleteI love how refreshingly honest your review is Sian. I'll be getting one of these for Lily when she's older as I've heard so many good things but it's great to know that it's not an instant fix but more something that should gradually bring improvements with routine and consistency.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you're getting on well with it and it's really sweet to hear that Little N is proud of his new clock :)
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This is so interesting, I've always wondered how these clocks work! I'm really lucky not to have an early riser, but he does go to be really late, so maybe I could use it the other way round to you, to tell Tyler when it is night time! X
ReplyDeleteLamb is exactly the same? He's 3 and wakes a couple of times in the night. We are also using the grow clock to train him to stay asleep and it's a bit hit and miss but the Gro clock has definitely helped a little. Xx
ReplyDeleteThe Gro clock sounds amazing. And I love the way that you have incorporated it into both your bedtime and morning routine. Those are fabulous tips. Little Miss H wakes up every morning just before 06.00. I think that the Gro Clock will be perfect at helping her stay in bed a little longer. Hugs Lucy xxxx
ReplyDeleteThese seem like such a great idea! Thankfully we've never had any trouble with sleeping here so never been needed, I count my blessings for that daily! x
ReplyDeleteI keep meaning to get one of these. My middle daughter is getting up earlier now it's brighter.
ReplyDeletei'm going to try one of these to help me night wean once my little one is 2 in June so fingers crossed it helps him apply some logic to when he's next going to be able to feed. currently still waking up every 2-3 hours ZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
ReplyDeleteWe have a Gro-clock too and it sounds like we use it in a similar way to you. Toby was pretty good at sleeping until a reasonable time but we were getting quite a few night wakings. We wave bye bye to 'Mr Sun' and say night night twinkle star at bed time too. If he wakes he quite often will go back to sleep by himself and if not I find its good to have something visual to show him it's still night time. And in the morning if he wakes up before the sun he will stay in bed until it comes out - at which point he'll come running out of his room saying 'Mr Sun came out' which is pretty cute! I reckon it took about a month of use to get to this point though so I'd definitely stick with it :)
ReplyDeleteWe have one of these for my 5 year old. It works most of the time and she understands the she doesn't get up until the sun is on her clock. The light mornings are really messing with the toddler's sleep now though.
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