A few months ago it dawned on me that we would soon have a three year old. A three year old that would try and creep into our bed or want to get up in the middle of the night. That's almost three year's with disturbed sleep. Thankfully, we have discovered the secret to getting a full nights sleep - enter The Gro Clock. I have been rather reluctant to post a review simply because I didn't want to jinx it, but almost four months on there is no denying its magic!
I have never been one to buy into (what I think) are gimmicks, I mean what's so amazing about a clock? How can a clock be the key to everyone enjoying a full nights sleep? Well as we have had almost three years with disturbed sleep and with another little monkey on the way, we were determined to find a solution and decided to give the Gro Clock a whirl. Normally retailing at around £30, we found a brand new one on Ebay for £15 (love a bargain!) and immediately purchased.
So, what is a Gro Clock? The Gro Clock is a sleep training tool that helps children to understand when its time to sleep and when its time to get up. You can set the bedtime and wake time depending on your preference and you can even set up nap times too if your child (unlike mine) has them. When its bedtime the light on the clock goes blue and the night starts come out, and when its time to get up the light turns yellow and the sun comes out. It's such a simple concept but it is one that really does work.
On the day we receive this precious parcel we made quite a big deal of it. We let her open it and inside there was a little book included which helps to explain to little ones exactly how it works. So, with her book and clock in tow we headed up to bed. The clock was easy to set up and Darcie immediately understood what her clock meant. She doesn't normally have trouble falling asleep, but with the lighter evenings she occasionally would wine that the sun was out outside, the Gro Clock has eliminated this problem for us. But for Darcie, her big issue was staying asleep and in her room the entire night...
On the first night she did wake, and when she saw that the stars were out and that it was still bedtime she started to cry shouting "I hate my clock". We persevered and explained to her again about the clock and assured her, she soon fell back to sleep. Then when I woke at 6am the following morning all was quite... I laid in bed not daring to move to wake her! Then at around 6:30 am I heard her wake, the clock is set to 7am wake up for so I knew she had 30 more mins to wait. And she did! She didn't whinge, cry or ask to get out of bed she just chilled until the little sun came out!! I was amazed!! When the sun did come out her response was priceless "Mum, I did it. The suns come out!!".
From then on we have had a much better experience at night, Darcie rarely wakes now and if she does she normally can self soothe. I really don't know why I have waited so long to try this amazing product but I will now be armed and ready if Darcie's little brother becomes a pain in the butt at bedtime too!
So if you're struggling with bedtime and getting them to stay in their own room, make sure you give this a try. My plan was if Darcie didn't take to it well, would be to introduce a reward chart to go along with the clock to help cement good sleeping habits.
Do you use the Gro Clock? Has it been your saviour?
Mummy B xoxox
