July 11, 2016 Dana

Get more sleep with the Zazu Sam Sleep Trainer!

Little kids are notorious early risers: toddlers are known to wake naturally at 6am or even earlier, and when they’re up, they want attention! By age 3, your child may be able to read a digital clock, but the concept of time is probably still a bit hazy to her. So a clock that illustrates what time it is in a simple and age-appropriate way that she’ll instantly understand is a must.

Our new favorite sleep solution is the Zazu Sam Sleep Trainer & Nightlight. Sam is a friendly sheep, and it’s easy to tell when Sam finds it appropriate to sleep or wake, with simple cues:

When it’s time to sleep, Sam’s eyes are closed, and the clock display is dark blue.
30 minutes before wake-up time, the clock display turns green. This signals to your child that if she’s awake, it’s time to play or read quietly in bed and not wake Mommy and Daddy up.
At wake-up time, Sam’s eyes open and the display turns daytime-sky blue, and it’s ok to get up!

A few words from our Head Buyer, Jill, on why she loves the Zazu Sam Sleep Trainer:

“As parents to a 2 year old (and soon to be newborn), my husband and I CHERISH our sleep. The Zazu Sleep Trainer is so great because it helps children learn to get on a schedule. Most of my Mom friends (and myself included) really feel like a schedule makes parents and children that much happier. The Zazu Sleep Trainer is so cute and has features that will grow with your child, so you can ease your child into a bedtime and morning routine. And since it features both analog and digital clocks, it’s also educational (shhh, don’t tell your kids!).”

Another word on the analog/digital matter: because of the way the hands move around the clock face, an analog clock makes time seem much more concrete to kids, and they’re capable of learning how this works at a pretty young age: according to the UK Telegraph, almost half of kids ages 4-5 can read a traditional clock. The Zazu Sam clock has the digital time in the center and illustrates it simultaneously on an analog clock face, so kids will see easily how they relate.

When your child is old enough that they no longer need the clock to cue them on when they can get out of bed, and need a proper alarm instead, the Zazu Sam Sleep Trainer can be used as a regular alarm with three sounds and adjustable volume.

Watch how it works in this video:

And finally, just for fun, this is probably a bad way to explain time to your child:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QVPUIRGthI

(These tips, from Parents.com, will probably be a good deal more useful!)