You may have heard about okay to wake clocks, but you might be wondering exactly what they are and how to use them. This post will get into it all and share a few of our favorites!
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What is an Okay to Wake Clock?
You may have heard these referred to as Ok to Wake Clock, Toddler Clock, Sleep Training Clock, Time to Rise Clock, but they are generally all the same thing.
These are clocks that provide a cue for your toddler around when it is time to be sleeping and when it is time to wake up. Most of these have a visual component, with a light that will change colors. Some will have other visual pieces, for example the one that we use has an animal face and the eyes are either opened or closed depending on the time of day.
Some of these clocks will also have an audio cue. For example, the Hatch Baby is also a sound machine and you can set the sound to change based on if it’s time to sleep or time to get up.
What can Okay to Wake Clocks help with?
Toddlers can experience different sleep struggles than babies, and okay to wake clocks can help with some of these. I have found using these clocks to be helpful with:
- Early morning risings
- Bedtime struggles
- Nighttime wakings
- Introducing quiet time
How to Use an Okay to Wake Clock?
Each clock will have its own settings that you will have to figure out. Based on my personal experience, I suggest reading the instructions and having it fully set up before introducing it to your child so you can avoid having any mishaps the first time you use it with them.
Introducing an Okay to Wake Clock to your child
You have a couple options here. Depending on your family and your child, you could involve your child starting with choosing the clock. You can explain to them that they are going to be getting a new clock for their room that is going to help them sleep and they can help pick it out. Tip from experience, if you are having your toddler pick it out I suggest doing it on your computer where you can have a few options already pulled up in different tabs and have them pick from those. I just opened the amazon app and started browsing with my child and she saw one that she loved. It wasn’t exactly the one I would have picked, but it works fine and she loves it so that does help.
Once you have the clock, I would remind your toddler that this is a clock that is going to help them sleep. Many of these clocks let you pick the color, though some of them have preset options. My suggestion is to go with red for sleep times and green for when it’s time to wake up. You can refer to them as red for bed and green for go. The rhyming and alliteration make them easy to remember, and also I generally suggest using red hues for night lights anyway. Also, some children may be familiar with red for stop and green for go as they are used in traffic lights.
You want to clearly explain what the expectations are for the clock and what your child can do when the clock is at each of its different settings.
You can decide if the light changing at night means that it’s time to get ready for bed or if that’s when your child needs to be in bed and ready to sleep. Whatever you decide though, you want to be consistent. Having defined expectations can help with limiting bedtime struggles. If your child doesn’t want to stop playing or keeps asking to read another book, you can use the clock and explain it’s time for bed. Once your child knows what to expect with the clock, you can even ask them to look at the clock and tell you what that means.
For overnight wakings
If your child has been waking overnight, you will want to explain that if they wake and the clock is red, then it is still time for sleep. These clocks aren’t going to end night time wakings, but can be helpful when used in combination with other strategies.
For early risings
If your child has been waking up extra early, I find it helpful to ease into working towards the ideal wakeup time. For example, if they have been waking up at 5:00 every morning and the goal is for them to wake at 6, it is a lot to expect them to wait for an hour and likely it will be hard, frustrating, and may not be successful. What you could do instead, is set the clock to indicate it’s okay to wake up at say 5:10, or however long you think your child can wait. This way they experience success and build their confidence that they can do it. Again, using the clock alone may not stop your child from waking up early and I would recommend exploring what is going on and getting to the root cause of the wake ups.
Other Options and tips
Some of the clocks will also have additional settings. For example, some will have the option to set it for nap or quiet time, which can be really helpful.
Some clocks will also have a third option so it can change when it is almost time to wake up. Some families will say when it’s almost time to get up their child can get up and quietly play or look at books. It’s up to you how you want to use all the different options of the clock you choose.
Another tip with these clocks is to make sure you adjust whenever there is a time change. If you forget to do that, then you may have a child insisting it isn’t bedtime yet or waking up an hour earlier.
Some of our suggested Okay to Wake Clocks
Sharp Ready to Wake Unicorn Sleep Trainer
This is the okay to wake clock that we have. My daughter loves unicorns, so she wanted one as soon as she saw this. It is easy to set up and also to make changes to. It lights up pink when it’s time for sleep and the unicorn’s eyes close, and then it changes to green in the morning and the eyes will open. It doesn’t have options to be used for nap/quiet time. It has a light projector which can be set with a timer. We don’t use that feature as we find it to be too distracting at bedtime. My only complaint about this clock is that the light is pretty bright. My daughter initially wanted it on her bedside table, but even she said it was too bright. We have it moved across the room and angled away from her bed and it is still plenty bright and you can clearly see the colors.
If I was having a baby, this is the one I would get as it has many different features. The Hatch is a sound machine and a night light all in one. It has an app so you can control it from your phone. You can choose from a variety of colors and sounds, and this is one you can program so that the sound and colors change based on if it is time to sleep or time to wake. You can adjust the brightness and the volume as well, so it really offers a lot of options for customization. This can also be set to indicate when it is time for nap/quiet time which I love. I do not own this one, but I have used it and I really like it. Something else I like about this one is that with the app, it is easy to adjust it based on the day. For example, if you need to be up early one day or if nap got started late, you can adjust it right from your phone so that the light/sound will change when you want it to. Many clocks I have seen require you to change it on the clock itself, which can be disruptive if you realize you want to change it when your child is already sleeping.
LittleHippo Mella Ready to Rise Children’s Trainer
I think this clock is adorable! You can select the color of the light from six different options, and it is also a sound machine. I love when something can serve multiple purposes. This one has the option to change to yellow when it is almost time to wake up, which can be a handy feature. Other features include an alarm clock, a nap timer option, and a battery backup so settings will be saved if you were to lose power. This clock could be used with children for a long time, the design doesn’t come across as something that’s just for little kids so that is nice as well. I have not used this personally, but I have friends and family who have and they all love it.
