Sleep has always been an issue in our house, both Ethan and Ivy have always had frequent wake ups through the night and woken up early.  There are so many factors that effect kids sleep that it's impossible to analyse them all, but there are definitely a few things that have helped Ethan, and I'm really hoping that they help Ivy as well.  

Firstly, we have a great bedtime routine that we stick to most nights.  Bath, pyjamas, stories and milk, it's just that simple but the kids really like that comfort of knowing what's coming next at bedtime and what to expect.  For Ethan things also really seemed to improve in his sleep habits after he moved up to a big bed and was potty trained.  I'm not sure if it was one thing or both, but after that he started sleeping through the night.

Once Ethan was sleeping through the night we were ready to tackle his early waking times, and we did this by using a Gro-Clock.  It's such a simple concept, and I think that's exactly why it works for young kids.  It's really easy to set it up, you simply set the time and then set the wake up times.  You can set a morning wake up time (ours is 7am) and you can set a nap wake up time as well.



It is then so easy to use that Ethan turns his on himself at bedtime, it's just another step in his routine.  He picks up his milk, chooses a book and says goodnight to the sun.  He presses the buttons to choose the night sleep mode and the sun disappears to be replaced by a star surrounded by small stars.  Those stars then disappear one by one throughout the night until morning when the last star goes and the big sun reappears.  That's when Ethan knows that he is allowed to wake up and get out of bed.



It does take a little while for little ones to get used to the Gro-Clock, and you should start them off slowly.  If they're waking at 5am now and your goal is 7am you can get there in smaller increments, so that they can succeed sooner.  The Gro-Clock also comes with the sweet little Sleepy Farm book, which is a story about animals on a farm who need their sleep, as well as explaining how the clock works to little ones.  It's a great way to get them excited about their new clock.



Ethan has had his for a couple of years now and it works perfectly for us.  We are hoping that it will be the same for Ivy, especially as she sees Ethan using his.  I had hoped but this review could include Ivy's progress, but as I mentioned there is no point in starting with the Gro-Clock before your child is ready, it can't work miracles!  Ivy is still waking frequently through the night as well as having night terrors, so until we get that sorted we'll have to deal with the 6am wake ups!



The Gro-Clock is also great for helping during time changes, either before travelling to a place in a different time zone or when gaining or losing an hour in the spring and autumn.  You can easily adjust the wake up times on the clock slowly, as well as adjusting bedtimes to make the transition easier, which is what we'll be doing this weekend when the clocks go forwards!

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*This is a review post, we were given a Gro-Clock to review and write our honest opinions about.*