Gro Clock review: testing the toddler sleep clock

I am just about recovered from the hour going back at the weekend. Forget having an extra 60 minutes in bed when you’ve got a toddler, as her own personal body clock meant she was merrily chatting away at her normal time.

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Fortunately, a combination of me telling her it was night-time, a dark bedroom and her Gro Clock all seemed to keep her quiet for another hour (even if I couldn’t get back to sleep).

So after enduring my last test for my Gro Clock review, here’s the verdict – and whether you can travel with a Gro Clock.

Gro Clock review: what is it?

Firstly, if you haven’t come across this clever device, it’s a sleep training clock aimed at two-year-olds and older. Instead of the normal clock face, the display showing stars which count down throughout the night before switching to the sun in the morning, at a time you choose.

Minnie has (touch wood) always been fairly good about sleeping to a reasonable hour and even about staying put until we come in. But with toddlers, I don’t count on anything staying consistent, so hearing friends talk about their children waiting patiently until ‘day’ sounded ideal.

The new models also have a digital clock, so older children can learn the time using this too.

We introduced it as part of the big bedtime switch, along with her new duvet and nightlight, and despite having left set-up until the last minute, it was pretty straightforward to follow the instructions to set the morning time.

Gro Clock review: toddler verdict

Minnie loved it instantly. So much so that for about a week, my wake-up sound was the rattly noise of her pulling the Gro Clock into her bed and cuddling it before pressing all the buttons.

As there’s only a finite number of combinations, and I hadn’t sent the optional lock, she also ended up re-setting the time more than once.

As a result, I was never quite sure how much attention she actually paid to the display – at least one occasion, she’d somehow set a 5am sunshine but stayed happily in bed regardless after she woke up.

And while I like the clever touch of the stars going out one by one during the night to show time passing (so if there’s six stars left, you know it’s not even close to morning), I’m not sure she really grasps that, at least for now.

Turning it from day to stars quickly became part of her bedtime routine though, although I do occasionally feel that she’s cracked how to operate it more quickly than I have.

EDIT: We’re still using a Gro Clock around five years on – although she can tell the time, it’s been useful shorthand to insist certain things can only happen after ‘one star’. It’s a new model as the plug/wire developed issues after a couple of years, although the clock itself was fine

Gro clock: the extras

There are various additional extras I haven’t set – for example having two different wake-up times, for week days and weekends (or nap times), as well as adjusting the screen brightness. But then I’ve been happy enough with the single option and default settings not to need to investigate further.

There is also a book to accompany it, and we read the bedtime story of the pig who stayed up late and was too tired to enjoy the next day a few times.

Minnie has very fixed ideas about her bedtime story, which tends to change from day to day, so while some parents make this part of the evening routine as well, she fairly quickly moved on. It’s a nice idea, but not essential.

Can you travel with a Gro Clock?

The clock is also very lightweight, which is perfect for travel – and if you have a toddler who’ll wait for the sun to rise, that could be hugely helpful with jetlag.

A jetlagged holiday is also the only time I can imagine using the audible alarm feature. I’ve barely needed to set an alarm at all for the past two years , as I’m inevitably woken up before it goes off (or before I’m ready).

EDIT: The clock has accompanied us around the world, and has definitely been helpful on jetlagged days – we might both be wide awake in the early hours, but at least I could point to it and insist it was night time. One word of warning: the different voltage meant it didn’t work properly on our trips to the USA but we haven’t run into problems anywhere else

Gro clock review: The verdict

I’ve tried quite a few Gro products in the past, from the baby sleeping bags to the toddler bedlinen, and raved about them all. This is perhaps the first where I’ve been less enthusiastic.

It’s not that I think it’s a bad product – it’s a great idea, well designed and cleverly thought out – and I know plenty of people who wouldn’t be without it, so perhaps it’s simply down to your toddler’s reaction.

EDIT: Over the years, I’ve become a lot more enthusiastic about it – perhaps it’s simply that Minnie was too young to properly get the most from it when we started using it. Over countless mornings, I’ve managed to keep her in bed thanks to this. Or at least in her bedroom. Or if not in her bedroom, quietly playing somewhere. You have to take your wins where you find them!

The acid test? I’d still save a space in my suitcase for a destination with more than an hour or two’s time difference.

Because as this weekend proves, if you can get an even just one hour lying quietly in the dark as a result, I’ll take it.

For more ideas of what to pack for travels with a baby, download my checklist and check out these tips for dealing with baby jetlag 

Images copyright MummyTravels

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