Design and Features
The Kid'Sleep Globetrotter Clock is made of plastic with a tough non-breakable face and a screw in battery compartment at the back.
It's a clock that tells two times, day and night, by lighting up a picture of either a hiking or sleeping sheep. It features a clock face cover which swings back to become the stand and comes in green.
Performance and Drawbacks
The Kid'Sleep Globetrotter is basically a visual reference which allows your child to tell if it's night time; for sleeping, or daytime and time to rise and shine.
There are two circumstances when the Kid'Sleep clock can really be useful. Either when your toddler or child starts the day too early or you are traveling to a different time zone and need your toddler to adjust to a new sleeping pattern.
It's easy for parents to use, you just pop in the batteries and set it the same way you would a digital clock. You have the choice of using just the light to let your child know when they should be asleep or setting the rooster cock-a-doodle-doo sounding alarm.
It's also logical for toddlers to understand. One look at the face and my little guy (2.5) understood that the walking sheep meant the daytime and sleeping sheep meant night time.
This little clock is not going to teach your children to sleep in, it's a tool to help you do that. You start by teaching them to understand the purpose of the clock and what the sleeping and waking sheep mean. Then gradually extend the sheep change over 5 minutes at a time until you've reached your desired getting up time.
It may not be that your toddler will sleep in until that time, however, the clock will let them know when it's OK to get out of bed or leave their room, depending on what you teach them.
The Kid'Sleep Globetrotter gets the toddler thumbs up. There's been a lot of interest from the 2+ kids who like to play at our place. Our little toddler tester is very excited about using this product and I've had to let my little guy know that the sheep clock is not for him (touch wood, we don't need it). The down side of toddler interest is they want to play with it; it's reasonably tough but it's not for little hands.
You can start using it from about 2.5 but it's use isn't just for toddlers but children right up to school age and a little beyond. The alarm is great for older children to let them know when it's time to get up and ready for school.
For a product like this, the proof is in the pudding so we are going to hand it over to a very weary tester mum & dad whose son thinks 5am is a good time to start the day. We'll let you know how they go.
To a reasonable extent the success of a product like the Kid'Sleep Globetrotter will depend how well you and your child adjust to routine changes. This clock is not going to suit the temperament of all children.
Conclusion
Desperate times call for desperate measures and a non-sleep compliant toddler has a huge impact the whole household.
If you're willing to put in the patience, time and effort and think your child will respond well this product could be the answer to your weary prayers.
The Kid'Sleep Globetrotter Clocks are not widely available. You can find them at Bonito Baby.
About Kid'Sleep
Kid'Sleep clocks are the invention of a Swiss dad who faced the same problems that all the parents of early risers do.
The Kid'Sleep clock comes in the Globetrotter design and a standard nursery design which has just become available in Australia.
