Tuesday, June 28, 2011

A few of my favorite things: "OK to Wake" clock

So, if you're friends with me on Facebook, or have talked with me in person lately, it should not surprise you that this is my new favorite thing. I seriously love this alarm clock - one of the best ideas ever!

 


I read about the OK to Wake clock by Onaroo a while ago on a blog that was actually giving one away.  I didn't win it, but after reading about it, I decided that it would be worth it to buy one for Annika.  I bought the clock from an online store located in BC - www.pinkyblue.ca, but it's also available on the Chapters website (not sure if it's available in-store anywhere around here).  Here's the basic idea behind it - kids get up early, earlier than what parents would like sometimes.  This clock helps kids to stay in their rooms until an acceptable time.  Parents set the clock for the "ok to wake" time (which really is the "ok to come out of their rooms" time), and at that time, the clock glows green.  It's a great idea, because it's simple for kids to know if it's okay to get up (they don't need to try to read numbers, although it does have a digital time display), and it's not an alarm that will wake them up, if by chance they happen to sleep later than that time.  The green light will stay lit until you turn it off, or after the auto-off time (which you can set for up to an hour).  It also has a nap timer, which we've been using for quiet time.  For older kids, it has a regular wake-up alarm.  It also has 2 changeable face-plates - a pink flower, or green "shrek ears" as Annika calls them. :)

So far the clock has been working wonderfully for us (we've had it for about a week).  Annika doesn't usually wake up super early, but when she does it always seems to be on the weekends.  This past weekend, she didn't come out of her room until 8:00am (on the nose! She must've been up and watching it).  During the week she's also been staying in her room until at least 8:00am (sometimes she actually sleeps later than that), which is nice because it gives me time to get ready and have breakfast without interruptions (as long as Emmett is cooperating - the clock doesn't do anything for him!).  When it's time for her to come out, she shouts "mommy it's green!!" like it's the best thing in the world.  Hopefully the novelty of it doesn't wear off too quickly.

The clock has also really been helping with her quiet time.  I try to get her to have an hour of quiet time in her room every afternoon, but usually she'll come out before the hour's up and ask "can I come down yet?"  Sometimes she'll come out quite a few times, which is a bit of a pain.  Things have gotten a lot better with the clock.  She'll still occasionally come out and tell me she has to go to the bathroom (which is okay with me, as long as she really has to go), but the "can I come out yet?" has pretty much stopped. 

There are just a few things that I don't like about the clock.  The main thing is that it is only powered by batteries - there's no option to plug it in.  The other thing is the night-light on the clock.  To save battery-power, the night-light turns off after the auto-off time period.  So the light will be on when the kid falls asleep, but if they wake up in the night, they have to press the button to turn the light back on (which I'm not sure a little kid would do if they woke up and were scared).    But Annika already has a night-light in her room, so we don't bother using the night-light feature. 

Overall, though, I think it's an excellent idea, and I would definitely recommend it.

**Please note: this is not a paid advertisement, nor did I receive anything for free in exchange for this review.  It's just something I like and want to share with you.**

1 comment:

Andrea said...

I wish I had known about this when my kids were that age...it sounds like such a perfect idea!!