Ahh, sleep and preschoolers… Sometimes they can be an elusive combination, non? And if you’re not quite sure how to handle your li’l napper getting up [a bazillion times] to ask if it’s time to get up yet, I might just have the solution for you. If your child can’t yet read a clock, and comes to wake you at or before dawn asking if it’s time, rest assured, this little device will help you get your REST, ASSURED!

[Psst, hey, before we jump right in: Just so ya know, this post is in no way compensated… Just a mom sharing what works for me.]

Okay, so here it is: the OK To Wake! clock. This thing is worth its weight in gold, as far as I am concerned. Our five-year-old has had this clock for a couple of years, and I wish I’d know about it when our nine-year-old was little!

So here’s what I love about this thing:

1. The wake-up “alarm” can be set to just light up, just sound an alarm, or do both. We just use the light, not the audible alarm. That way, if Li’l Bro wakes up and the light is green, he knows he can get up. If he wakes up, and the clock’s not green, he knows he needs to keep resting. Simple!

2. There are two different light up colors. There is a button on the front that lights up with a nice amber nightlight glow for a few minutes when pushed, but the “okay to wake up” light is green, so there is no room for confusion. [Ahem, or crafty excuses, like child pushes light up button, then “but mommy, it lit up so I can get up… right?”]

3. There are two alarm settings: the morning alarm is set to go light up at the same time every morning. The second alarm (which can also do light, sound, or both) is a nap alarm, and to activate it each day, you just have to press one button marked nap. That is such a brilliant idea, I think, because what mama gets her munchkins down for a nap at the exact same time each day? So this nap button activates a countdown timer that lights up after the set amount of time has passed (Li’l Bro has really outgrown naps, but I still have him rest for 59 minutes on most school days and after church, so he loves being able to see exactly how much time he has left).

4. you never have to hunt for or remember the directions. Okay, so can any other moms out there agree that we give birth to part of our memory when we have kids? I’m telling you: one time around my goldfish bowl, and it’s a whole new world. AND besides, the last thing I need is another scrap of paper to keep up with. Thank you, clock maker people, for including a directions cheat sheet right there on the back flip-down panel for me. You had me at hello.

5. It’s battery operated. I love that there is no cord to plug in, and so does Li’l Bro. He can pick up the clock and manipulate it… you know, like hold it on his chest and stare at the nap timer countdown. And it takes AA’s, not some funky rectangular battery that I never have on hand. I’ve only had to change the batteries maybe 3-4 times total. Pretty good battery life, I say!

6. It’s cute and hand-down-able. Since the Okay To Wake clock came with two face plates, one green and one pink, it’s a perfect candidate to hand down to Sis once she is in a toddler bed and gains the freedom to learn when it’s okay to roam and when it’s time to stay put. And, the face plates are mind-numbingly simple to switch: just twist-off, twist-on… [But they are not so easy that my five-year-old has ever removed the face plate.]

7. It has neat light-up features. Pushing one of the two big kid-sized buttons on the front causes the clock to make silly faces. I love that, such a cute extra.

There are only two drawbacks I can think of:

1. First, the price. I just checked Amazon, and they regularly almost $40. But we’re in luck! They are on sale for $33.44 with free shipping right now. I know that’s not dirt cheap for a kid’s clock, but even a thrifty girl like me would buy one again in a New York minute if I needed to.

2. Second, the green plastic face plate has sort of antennae. And when Li’l Bro has dropped the clock on our hardwood floor a few times over the years, they’ve bent a bit. Actually, you probably can’t even tell except for the slight whitening of the green plastic. But if they did ever break, they would not look good at all. [No breaks yet, though! Knock on wood!]

And there you have it, my love affair with a kiddie clock.

So, are there any mommy products you’ve stumbled upon that you just love? Do tell!

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