One of our greatest challenges has been teaching Charlie the concept of an appropriate wake up time. He’s 2. Why doesn’t he have this down already? 
Charlie goes to bed at 7pm and generally wakes up around 6:30am. While we wish he slept a little later, we are ok with this wake up time. Sometimes, however, he wakes up at 6am. Rarely, the dreaded 5:30am wakeup call rears its ugly head, but when it does we end up starting our day earlier than plan. Or should I say we used to start our day earlier than planned! We finally discovered a way to keep him patiently in his crib until at least 6:30 in the morning.
About 6 weeks ago we discovered the OK To Wake! Owl With Night-Light & Music, Nap Timer. This clock doesn’t function as an aid to teach children how to tell time. It is a clock, surrounded by an Owl stuffed animal. We set the alarm on the clock to 6:30am. Now, every morning at the set time, the Owl lights up indicating it is okay to ask for Charlie to ask for mommy and daddy.
This amazing invention took no training. I simply showed him what the owl looked like when it turned green. Before he went to bed I asked him if he remembered what the owl looked like when it turned green. He said yes. I then told him that it will stay white until it is time to wake up. When the owl turns green you can call for mommy and daddy. I asked him if he understood and he said yes. The next morning he did just that. He woke up at 6am, but didn’t call for us. Instead he sang songs in his crib until the Owl turned green. Such a genius device!
Here it is in action. I wish I caught a little more of the footage before the clock turned green. He was singing Happy Birthday to all of his stuffed animals before the light went on.
Generally, he doesn’t wait as patiently as he does in this video, but you get the idea…
Tags: teaching toddler to sleep in, ok to wake night owl, more sleep for mommy and daddy
