Do Gro Clock-style sleep trainers actually work for staying in bed?
Thinking about getting one of those clocks that change colour to tell them when they're allowed to get up. Do they actually work on toddlers or is it just money down the drain? What age did it start working for yours?
Hi Priya, They can be really helpful, but they are a visual tool rather than an instant fix! Whether they work tends to depend more on the child’s understanding and impulse control than on the particular clock you buy. Many children begin to grasp the idea somewhere between 2.5-3 years, although every child is different. I prefer colour changing lightbulbs and use a simple traffic-light message: red means bed and green means go, go, go! Explain and practise it during the daytime first, so they understand what the colours mean before you expect them to follow the rules at 5am. When the light is red, the expectation is to lie down, close their eyes and stay quiet as a mouse until it turns green. If they get out of bed, calmly guide them back and repeat the same short message. The clock will not hold the boundary by itself, so your response still needs to be consistent. Set the green light at a realistic time initially. If they currently wake very early, you may want to start close to that time and gradually move it later by 10-15 minutes every few days. This helps them succeed! Some children understand it quickly, while others need weeks of repetition before it starts to stick. Think of it as something you teach, rather than something that works straight out of the box. I hope that helps!
Reviewed by Gemma Coe, child sleep specialist — general guidance, not a substitute for your GP or health visitor.
Worked really well but not until she was about 2.5, before that she just didn't get it. We turned it into a game, let's see if we can still be asleep when the sun wakes up, little sticker at first. Within a couple of weeks the 5am starts turned into her mostly waiting for the sun to come up on the clock. The bit that matters is not going in before it changes, ever.
Gro clock did nothing for us but the bunny one with the traffic light face worked overnight. I honestly think the character mattered more to her than anything the clock actually did. Kids are odd.
Did absolutely nothing at 2, then clicked pretty much overnight at nearly 3. So I'd say it's less about the clock and more about whether they're old enough to get the idea. Once it lands it's dead handy though, gives them something concrete instead of you just saying it's too early.
Worked but took a couple of months of doing it every single day, not the instant fix I'd hoped for. Buy it as a tool you'll have to teach rather than something that fixes it out of the box and you won't be disappointed.
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