This post contains affiliate links. For better and worse, I’m done being a parent to toddlers. However, for those of you who are still in the trenches, I dug through the archives to share this post about The Stoplight Alarm Clock that worked wonders for our family when our children were too little to know when it was time to stay in bed or wake up.
Our Struggle
I was lamenting on Mom’s Plans Facebook page a few weeks ago that my three year old daughter was routinely waking up at 4:30 to 5 a.m. EVERY morning and then proceeding to turn on the light, dance around the room, hide in the closet, slamming the door in the process, and waking up both her brother and sister that she shares a room with and us, not to mention our neighbors upstairs. In short, we were all exhausted and grumpy.
Our daughter had no idea how to read a clock or when it was appropriate to get up because she was too little to understand.
The Solution
While many Facebook followers offered solutions, Teri’s suggested using The Stoplight Alarm Clock (formally called It’s about Time Sleep Enhancing Alarm Clock for Kids), which did the trick for us. This clock looks like a traffic light, and at night, the light is red. Kids are not allowed to get out of their beds until the light turns green.
We set the clock to turn green at 6 a.m. and went to sleep not expecting much. Our daughter did wake up before 6 a.m.. But to our surprise, she stayed in bed quietly until the clock turned green. We couldn’t believe it and thought it must be a fluke. However, we have now had the clock for weeks, and it has worked like a charm.
If you are having trouble with kids who wake up too early, you just might want to try this light. Thank you, Teri! I now feel human again. 🙂
What a cool idea! The things that kids will do, it is amazing!
That’s a pretty cool idea. I might have to mention that to my wife. Our 2-year old son gets up early and who knows if this would put him back to bed. Our seven month old daughter will likely be worse if her current habits carry forward, so she’ll most definitely need this!
I didn’t really think it would work, but it is great.
This is a genius clock! Will have to try it out for Xander! He is pretty good about not getting up too early but on those days he does I think this would work great.
that is awesome. i need this, like, yesterday. my 2 yr old and 9 month old have been waking up at like 5 o’clock! it is crazy! makes me drink way more coffee than i should, too. i dont get up, but i definitely cant get back to sleep since i can hear those 2 roosters changing into MONKEYS!
Let me know if you try it and like it!
We love our traffic light clocks! We have one in the girls’ room and one in the boy’s. Glad it’s working for you! I hope you weren’t really up at 3:40 at night to take that picture!
Haha. Getting up in the middle of the night would defeat the point of the clock! 🙂 It was a dark, snowy day when I took the picture with the light off.
That’s awesome! I’m glad she’s a law-abiding citizen;).