Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Who Knew? Toddlers Can Tell Time

By Jennifer
BabyBlogAddict.com

Who Knew that toddlers can tell time and adding a clock to their bedroom can actually make them sleep later?

Our almost three-year-old son would sleep until a decent hour every morning. That was until he gave up his pacifier a couple of months ago. It was then that he had to keep the lamp on every night, which made it more difficult for him to tell if it was light outside in the morning. (My rule was that it had to be light outside before he could get up.) So when he was waking up before 6:00 a.m. because of the lamp and no paci, I knew something had to be done.

A friend of mine asked if Jack recognized his numbers and when I said he did, she suggested that I get a digital clock for his room. She has one for her daughter who is almost four and swore that it worked. My husband kind of laughed at the idea, thinking it would never work, but I figured I'd give it a shot. I had nothing to lose and only sleep to gain!

The first night, I told Jack that the first number had to be a "7" before he could get out of bed the next morning. He called me in at 6:30 and I had to explain the "7" rule again. He wasn't too happy, but settled down. At 6:37, he called me in again saying that there was a "7" on the clock. I reminded him that it had to be the first number. So at 7:00 on the dot, I hear in the most excited voice, "Mama, there's a 7! The first number is a 7!"

Scott was floored that it worked, and I have to admit that I was a bit surprised that it worked so quickly and consistently. Since we got the clock, I've heard him wake up before 7:00 a few times, but he'll just read in his bed and sing his ABC's or other tunes until it hits 7:00 on the dot.

Who knew that a clock could work that kind of magic? Now, you know.

Previous Posts:
:: Who Knew? Vertically Challenged Moms
:: Who Knew? Different Size Nipples

4 comments:

Bridget said...

Libby doesn't have a clock yet... but she will come into our room in the morning. One morning about a month ago I showed her the clock and said, "see, it's not even 6 o'clock yet... you HAVE to wait until you see 6! " On the occasion she's up before 6, she will come in and just be quiet until the 6 pops on the face of our clock. then she says, "6 o'clock, momma!" insane. I really need to get her her own clock.

Michaela said...

A digital clock does work! My oldest son is an early riser. We started the clock thing when he was two. It worked like a charm. When his little brother moved into his room, he would tell him he had to wait too. So great!

Mom2Miles said...

Awesome. I've got to try that. Wonder if 2 and 1/4 is too young for it to work?

NIKKI said...

Do you think it would keep them in bed until 8:00 on the weekends?bb :)