Green Light

In a blog post back in August '08, I said this was the best invention ever, but I would like to officially name a recent purchase I made on Amazon.com as the new contender. 

Behold.  The invention that is so ingenious, it only has to sit there and it magically keeps an active toddler in his bed.

 

 I bought this after Will began climbing out of his crib and surprising us during the 6:00 hour of the morning ("Hi, Mama!  Hi, Mama!  I outta my bed!  C'mon, Mama!").  The rule for the big boys is to stay in their beds until the first number on their clock is a 7.  And the rule for Will is to stay in his bed until the light is green.  It can also function as a regular alarm clock, but for now, I set the time Will is allowed to get up (7:00 a.m.), and until that time, the traffic light will show red.  Red equals Keep Your Butt in the Bed.  At 7:00 a.m. sharp, the light turns green and stays that way for an hour.  And then Will is allowed to run to our room with his exuberant morning greeting.

The clock worked wonderfully while he was in his crib.  He would excitedly tell us, "My light green!  I outta my bed!"  But I wasn't sure if it would be as effective after we converted his crib to a toddler bed.  It's just so much easier to climb out of a regular bed than a crib.  If he woke up before 7, would he really just lie patiently and wait?
The answer is most of the time.  There were 2 mornings he woke up at 6:50 a.m.  I watched on the video monitor as he sat in his bed, glancing over at his clock.  After 5 minutes of patient sitting (an impressive feat in itself for Will!), he climbed out of his bed.  I put him back in his bed and explained he had to wait until the light was green, and that he only had to wait for 2 more minutes. ("Two minutes" is Will's favorite expression as of late.  Everything will be done in "two minutes, Mama".)  And he stayed in his bed for the remaining 2 minutes (that was really 4 minutes) and then ran to our room excitedly for a second time that morning.

The other two mornings he got up shortly before 7 can be blamed on poop.  And I'm not faulting him for those.  Who wants to lie down when you have a diaper full of morning poop?

I love this clock.  It's simple, it's cute, and it's perfect.  Every night before he goes to bed, Will tells us, "I outta my bed when my light green.  No go in Day-do (Jacob) and Alte's (Alex's) room.  Go in Mama and Daddy's room."  The transition from crib to bed is one I always dread.  But this has made it painless.