Customer Reviews

My Tot Clock: Helping Small Children Sleep Better...So Parents Can Too!

5 star:		(93)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I wanted to write a review for people like me. I am a good parent, but we operate a little more by the moment in hour house so sometimes very regimented toys and activities just don't work for our family because our existence is so hectic that we just don't have time to be consistent. So, I bought this clock with 3 things in mind. First, my 4-year old son REALLY wanted a clock. He had just recently become enamored with clocks in general. Second, we were having a getting out of bed multiple times, and ending up in bed with me issue, mostly with my 2 year-old son. Thirdly, the 2-year old was starting to act as though he might have an issue with the dark and leaving their dimmable light on low was the only way to begin to get him in the mood to negotiate bed time (and you know you have trouble when you are bargaining at bed time with your 2 year-old.) What I was concerned about was that we would get this, not be able to use it easily and therefore not consistently and it would be another really good idea that just did not work for us.

Now, we have had our clock for less than a week and it has already transformed bed time and sleeping habits in our house. The only major committment I had to make was to insist that the boys (mostly the little guy) get back in bed when they woke up at night, and not take the easy way out and allow them to get in bed with me. I never had to bother with my 4 year-old. He was so excited about his clock and caught on to all the meanings of the colors right away, so he understood and abided by the new rules of his own accord. Night one, my little guy got out of bed 8 times between going to bed and getting up in the morning. I quicly and calmly took him back to his bed and said "the clock is still blue, it's still bedtime, you can get up in the morning when the clock is yellow." He would fuss, and we would do it again a few minutes later. Night two he got up 3 times. Night three and four he got up 2 times and yesterday he got up only one time, 10 minutes before the clock would have turned yellow for wake up time anyway. He is a very stubborn little boy, so the fact that this worked with him is amazing!

It's easy to set up your bed time and wake up time which work automatically going forward. You simply press the light blue naptime button, red discipline button, and green positive activity button to start those activities, whose duration you also pre-set. There are story-time, music and white noise options for bed and/or wake time. The clock comes with one faceplate and one cartridge (music and story.) It will also work on battery and comes with an AC adapter. I LOVE that it is an analog clock, though all the functions are set using the digital clock on the back. The Children's Dreamland story cartridge that comes with this is kind of a hypnotic, and although I think the voice is kinds of nasal and weird, it seems to relax the kids.

I do not know if the success of this product is due to the product itself or because parents are so desparate for this product to work that they committ to the behaviors that would have solved the sleeping problems in the first place, but either way IT DOES WORK. So, some of you other parents out there like me, for whom some of the more hyped trends in child rearing are more trouble than what they accomplish, please do not pass this up, it will work, with minimal effort and great results!

I would have NEVER believed how fabulously a clock could change our lives! Our daughter LOVES having her very own clock and we have gone from getting out of bed at 5am to staying in until 7am in just a couple of weeks!!!!!! WHO KNEW???? I wish I had found this clock months ago!!!!!!

The concept is simple but ingenious! You set the times you want the clock to turn yellow (time to wake up) and blue (time for bed) and the rest of the magic the clock takes care of itself. The clock has the flexibility to have a nighttime story read and you can add music/white noise as you want. My daughter LOVES watching the clock turn colors and can't wait to run into my room in the morning to let me know that her clock turned to yellow.

The clock is very easy to use and I love the flexibility of adding music to your routine, being able to change out stories and face plates, and to be able to use this for time outs and as positive reinforcement for potty time and other things. We even used the clock to help us transition from crib to big girl bed. Her bedtime routine stayed the same... even though the bed (and the tendency to get out of it) changed.

This is a fantastic product and has been a lifesaver (not to mention SLEEP saver) for us! I highly recommend this clock... you WON'T find anything else out there like it! Happy sleeping!!!!!

Our 3-year old would come into our room at least two times in the middle of the night, and he would come into our room at 6 am ready to start his day. Since we purchased the Tot Clock, it took less than a week for our son to stay in his room all night, and he is staying in his room until the clock turns yellow to start his day - more sleep for us! He was talking about being scared, so since it also works as a night light, that problem has gone away, and he is sleeping much better.

Also, we were having trouble getting him to stay in his room for quiet time during the day. He gets so excited about seeing the different colors of his clock, that he is now happy about quiet time because he gets to push the light blue button, and he is staying in his room the entire time.

It works just as well for keeping him in his room for discipline issues.

It's fun and easy to use. We love the Tot Clock, and we HIGHLY recommend it!

We use this clock to help guide our kids stay in their room in the morning and not wake up Mommy and Daddy at 5:00am. We soon discovered that it had a side-benefit of letting the kids get more sleep, as they no longer wake each other up for the exciting excursion to come fetch us. It works 100% with our four year old, not quite as well with the two year old, who is something of an iconoclast.

Three tips:

(1) Plug it in; the clock runs through batteries quickly.
(2) If it gets unplugged and replugged, even if it has batteries and doesn't forget the current time, the color-changing times you set in the back may get scrambled.
(3) The buttons on the top are trivially easy for little kids to push, turning the clock to 'daylight,' for example, at their whim. Keep the clock on a high shelf.

I got this clock partly so my daughter can tell when it's okay to get up (now that it is dark outside until 8 am), but also because of the music, white noise and night light features. It works well on the basic yellow/blue color switching. BUT, the music is annoying and computerized sounding, it plays for too long (30 minutes!) and you CANNOT use the white noise if you don't use the music. I am particularly irritated about not being able to use the white noise without the music, as the white noise is why I selected this clock over a less expensive option...I guess I'll be buying another white noise machine after all.

We purchased the Tot Clock for my 24 month old daughter. We were planning to move her into a toddler bed within a few months, and wanted to get her used to the idea of staying in bed until a certain time. And she was waking before 6 am - something we were also trying to prevent. The Tot Clock is perfect! She caught on to the blue and yellow features instantly, and now shows everyone who walks in the door, "Want to see my clock?" She's always so proud of herself when she wakes and the clock is yellow. In fact, this morning, after a month or so of use, we heard her cry about 25 minutes before her clock was yellow. We didn't interfere and she must have put herself back to sleep after seeing the blue clock. When we heard from her more than an hour later what we heard was, "Mommy, my clock is yellow!" What a dream...

It's also equally effective in the evening. We have it set for about 15 minutes before official bedtime and when I'm getting lots of protest/stalling (which is inevitably the case with my boundary-pushing two year old) I simply say, "What color is your clock? Why don't you go and look." When she sees it's blue, it's like a switch has been hit and she becomes much more compliant and willing to work through the bedtime routine. I think it makes a big difference that she can determine for herself that it's nighttime.

We don't use the story or song features, but do use the red "time out" feature, which also works wonders. It's preset for 2 minutes and works beautifully. I just tell her that I'll see her when her clock is yellow and leave and she won't get up until she sees the change in color.

There do seem to be some kinks in the manufacturing. This is actually our 3rd clock - the first two both malfunctioned. But the customer service was fabulous. They responded within hours of my inquiry, and sent a new clock the same day. The new package contained a pre-paid shipping label and I simply returned the other. The owner of the company writes personally and is lovely.

I can't recommend this product highly enough - it has completely changed the sleep dynamic in our house.

This is a great product and agree with everything everyone is saying here. But I am sick of these sellers on Amazon misrepresenting information. I saw this clock on Amazon but went to the manufacturer's website and saw that the listed price is actually $49.95 (not $59.95)...so this seller isn't selling it to you at a discount and the shipping is cheaper from the manufacturer. Maybe if enough people start taking action from these sellers, we might get back to an Amazon that you could trust was a great place to find great products at a great price!

I love this clock! its incredibly well made and has multipule uses. My 3 year old son was always a good sleeper but lately he began to throw tantrums because he didn't wanted to go to bed and he would get up as soon as it was light. He now goes to bed most nights happily because he wants to see his clock and listen to the story and he tell's me in the morning that he waited till the light turned yellow before he got up.
Not only is this a great product the customer service I received was outstanding! I have dealt with many companies over the years and I have to say this is the best I've dealt with. They were helpful, kind, caring, responded to my e-mail promptly and made me feel like I was an important customer. I can not say enough about this product and company and would highly recommend them. I will be passing the word around to all the mum's I know, thank you White Dove Innovations!

How this clock is operated: You put batteries in and plug it into a wall. You set the current time on a digital clock on the back of the clock, and also use a dial on the back of the clock to set the current time for the hands on the front of the clock so that the two times are in sync. The hands are a way for your child to see the time, but all functions are controlled by the digital clock.

What it does: It can be a blue nightlight all night long (and you can adjust the brightness, or turn it off entirely). It can run through a "put down" routine at a time you specify by playing the audio track and/or the music track off of a cartridge that you stick in the back of the clock. To illustrate: you can set the "put down" routine to start at 7:00pm, and put your child in bed at that time. The clock can then start reading a story to the child, followed by music. You can also jumpstart the routine to begin whenever you happen to put your child to bed by holding down the appropriate button for 5 seconds. The track on the cartridge that comes with the clock is almost a meditation of some kind, describing to the child how they're walking through "dreamland" and what they can see and do there, lasting about 8 minutes. It can then play soft music for another 15 minutes or so. Other cartridges can read more traditional stories, like Goldilocks and the Three Bears. The clock can turn yellow in the morning at a specified time, signalling to your child that it's okay to get up. It can also play music at that time, giving the child an additional signal (but also potentially acting as an alarm clock if your child happens to be sleeping in that day). The clock can also be turned blue for a nap - you specify the length of your child's naps ahead of time and then just press the appropriate button for 5 seconds to "initiate a nap." Same system goes for timeout (the clock turns red), or "positive time" (the clock turns green). The clock also comes with one "face", a nighttimey-looking one, and more can be purchased.

Flaws: The clock can operate on battery power, but is not intended to do so on a regular basis (assuming you use its nightlight function, anyway). Used that way, the batteries will be dead after a few days. Rather, this is intended as a plug-in clock. More importantly, the controls are totally exposed on the back of the clock, and a clever or even curious 2-year old can change your settings, thwarting the whole purpose of the clock. Also, despite looking very much like a toy, this clock does nothing at all except for what I've described. A child who plays with the clock thinking it can do something fun, especially because of its big colorful buttons on top, will be very disappointed. This clock also has no feature to teach your child how to read time - it is not an educational device.

Conclusion: This clock will best serve someone interested in its put-down routine feature, maybe if you're having trouble putting your kids down to sleep and think that a clock reading them a story (the same story every day, until you switch cartridges) will help. If you just want a clock that will change colors in the morning, there are other cheaper options - specifically the "OK to Wake! Children's Alarm Clock and Nightlight" by Onaroo [...]. That same clock will also work if you want one that is intended to operate on batteries. If you want one with the same features as the "OK to Wake" but that is also intended to teach your child how to tell time, instead get the "American Innovative Teach Me Time Talking Alarm Clock and Nightlight" by American Innovative [...].

**After using our My Tot Clock for over a year, I thought I would update my review. We still love our My Tot Clock just as much as we did the first day! It has continued to function well and my son's bed/wake routine is no trouble at all. I was thinking about passing the clock down to our younger son (22 months old), but our older son (4 1/2 years) is not ready to give it up. He still loves the bedtime music and white noise through the night and always looks forward to the wake-up music in the mornings. Overall, we have been VERY happy with our purchase and will be buying another My Tot Clock for our younger son.**

I love my new My Tot Clock! Okay, so it is my son's, not mine, but I just cannot say enough about it! My 3yo son has been waking up at least 2-3 times a night and needed Mommy or Daddy to put him back to bed. He also was waking up very early in the morning. And bedtime and naptime were often a battle. Well, that is all history now. We have had the My Tot Clock for about a month and everyone is sleeping much better! No more night wakings at all! He stays in bed until his clock turns yellow at 7:30. If he wakes up earlier, he stays in bed and quietly looks at his books. And bedtime and naps have become a breeze! I had tried many different techniques with my son over the years to get him to sleep better. None of them worked. The My Tot Clock solved my sons sleep issues with no effort and no crying. Now my son looks forward to bedtime and runs upstairs to see if his clock is blue and his "night-night music" is on. We also really like the green "encouragement" timer! It makes brushing teeth so much more fun for my son.

I love the clock so much, but I think I love the customer service even more. I was having some trouble with wake-up time at first, the clock wasn't turning yellow at the right time. Also, the box had been opened before. I emailed the company and received a return email on the same day (a Sunday) from the president of the company, Pamela. She addressed all of my concerns (the clock was functioning perfectly, it was user error) and even offered to either replace the clock or to send my son a new theme faceplate for his clock. When he received his faceplate today, Pamela had included a personal message to my son. The personal touch made his day, and mine. I cannot say enough about My Tot Clock and White Dove Innovations. I would give it ten stars out of five if I could. Worth every penny and more!