Toddler/Preschooler Alarm Clock

5am. 5:30am. These are the times I wake up. My son (thankfully still in his crib) starts calling for me at these times every day. For a good long while I would have to get up with him because he was waking up my oldest, who is three and a half and across the hall. I would collect him, bring him into the living room, and laying with him until he fell asleep or until Genny woke up. This was an exhausting ritual which lead to afternoon naps every day, which lead to feelings of the inability to get everything done every day because I was laying on the couch for over an hour every afternoon.

There's even more to this sleep-deprivation story, but I'll stop there. I've found my fix. I've found a clock that is so simple and works so well. You can find the one I bought for Genny here and the one I bought for Glenn here. Such a simple concept. The bottom half of the 'clock' is a sleeping animal. The top half is an awake animal. When the lower half is lit up, the child knows it's still time to sleep. When the top half is lit up, the child can get up out of bed. I have Genny's set at 6am right now, and am waiting for Glenn's in the mail.

This is something that will help me be a better mom. I'll get more sleep and so will the kids, which means we're all happy and well rested.

The bottom half is lit up

It was a bit larger than I anticipated, so here is my hand next to it to show size.