How I keep my kids in bed (if not asleep)

This, my friends is magic.

When the clock is blue, it is time for sleep.

When the clock is yellow, it is time to wake up.

It's called My Tot Clock, I bought both (one for each of the non-baby kids) from Amazon.

Of course, now our four year old can tell time, both on the analog and digital clocks, so she needs this less and less, but it has been my savior for years. Starting a little before age 2, the kids can understand the  color change, and they will actually stay in bed. You can set the time to turn blue and yellow at the bedtime and wake time of your choice (6:30pm and 6:00am for us). Yes, 6am. And it is h-a-r-d to get them to stay there that long. It's genetic, my sister and I woke our parents up well before 6am for years. Although my mother claims to have blocked it out:)

The clock also "externalizes the issue" of bedtime. You are not telling them to go to bed, the clock is. If they are taking too long to get ready, the clock will still turn blue at the same time, so you can say, "we have 10 minutes until the clock is blue. Once you are in jammies I will read until it changes color". That way your child can still have some control over their actions and decisions, without you threatening them with fewer stories or (to them) arbitrarily deciding on a bed time.

Jessica

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