Anyone tried a wake up timer for LO?

2-Step

DS has been waking up and getting out of bed at 4:30am! He refuses to get back in bed and throws a giant fit when I try to get him back in and will scream all morning until I let him out of his room. With a new baby on the way I am getting seriously sleep deprived, not to mention I don't need a 2 year old slamming into his door waking up a baby at 4:30am either.

I was looking at these wake up timers on Amazon like this one:
https://www.amazon.com/Wake-Owl-Night-Light-Music-Timer/dp/B0044D0HA2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317830403&sr=8-1

Has anyone tried this type of product? DH thinks DS is "too smart" for it and wouldn't do what it says anyway, but the reviews make me think maybe it is worth a try.

justmeardle

I think my DS is still a little too young for this.  He wakes up crying every morning & I don't think he would focus on a timer.  I plan to use it when he gets a little older. 

I don't think a child could be "too smart" for this.  I assume you have to teach LO to stay in bed until it says he is allowed to get up.  Treat it like any rule & figure out what type of punishment would fit him not listening.

GL! 4:30 is WAY too early for a pregnant mama!

Wally3

I looked at a bunch and didn't want to spend the money.  So I set my regular alarm clock to quiet music and told ds he can only get up if the music is playing and/or the clock says 6 the first number.  He seems to understand that and gets really excited at 6 and comes into my room and tells me.  He doesn't fight sleep as much before 6 - he will come in but goes striaght back to bed because it is not 6.

2-Step

justmeardle:

I think my DS is still a little too young for this.  He wakes up crying every morning & I don't think he would focus on a timer.  I plan to use it when he gets a little older. 

I don't think a child could be "too smart" for this.  I assume you have to teach LO to stay in bed until it says he is allowed to get up.  Treat it like any rule & figure out what type of punishment would fit him not listening.

GL! 4:30 is WAY too early for a pregnant mama!

Yeah I agree about the "too smart" thing, more like "too NAUGHTY!" I've tried repeatedly putting him back in bed, just saying - you need to stay in bed, and not reacting while I do it over and over, but it went on this morning for over an hour and then I was just DONE. I've also tried explaining that everyone is still in bed and the whole neighborhood is in bed and sleeping and the sun is not up etc. etc., and he gets it and tells me OK and then cries the second I leave and pounds on the door. 

I don't know what the appropriate punishment would be at 4am because his only goal is to get up so I dont think time out would faze him much, or maybe there is a reward I can give him for waiting until the light goes on? Toddlers baffle me sometimes!

ImAnRN

yes, and I LOVE it. We bought the Teach Me Time clock from Barnes and Noble. It turns green when he can get up and its yellow while he sleeps. It's been a life saver! My DS was waking up at 5 am for months before I caved and bought it. After several mornings of "training," he now wakes up at 7:30.

emberlee3

Yes, we started just before he turned 2 with the Teach Me Time Clock.  Once he got over his obsession with pushing the buttons and saying, "Ding-ding!" every time he saw the clock, it has worked great.  He is really good about staying in bed till it turns green now.  I think he just goes back to sleep if he wakes up while it's yellow.

I'mAcrossThePond

We have the My Tot Clock and LOOOOVE it. DS has used it since he was 2 and learned the color code VERY quickly. When we first got it, we "practiced" napping and I'd set the nap timer for like 2 minutes...we'd lay in bed and when the clock turned yellow, we could get up. He thought it was a great game and the first night we saw an improvement in his sleep habits!