Parents of small babies, I’ve got some bad news for you.
While you may think getting them to sleep through the night means the end to all your sleep woes, unfortunately, that’s rarely the case. As soon as your little ones enter toddlerhood a whole new set of sleeping problems arises, which usually revolve around bedtimes taking hours on end and becoming a massive chore, and wake-ups becoming hideously early. So how do you get your toddler to go to bed at a reasonable hour, and learn that a daily 5am wakeup call is not acceptable?
Naturally, every child is different and there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution, but parents have long sworn by sleep training clocks to help teach their toddlers how to understand when it’s the right time to go to sleep and the right time to wake up.
These clever devices come in a range of different guises, from simple clocks that change colour to let little ones know whether it’s nighttime or morning, to multi-use pieces of tech that act as a sleep training clock, white noise machine and nightlight all in one.
So, how do you choose the right sleep training clock for your toddler?
First, decide how much you want to spend – the simpler options tend to be fairly affordable, around the £30 mark, but the more whizzy features they have the more expensive they’re likely to be. If you have or are planning on having more than one child this might be fine, as the cost per use will even out, but if the device will only be used for one child it might be worth considering a more affordable option.
Secondly, think about what will work best for your child. Do they respond well to simple things that they can understand and operate themselves? Would they prefer a sweet-looking animal version? Do they like a bright nightlight or relative darkness? You know your child best, so think about all these different factors before deciding which one to purchase.
Here we’ve rounded up the best toddler sleep training clocks to buy now.
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Tommee Tippee Groclock
This is one of the most popular sleep trainer clocks around, and for good reason. The simple device has been designed to look like a clock and features an adorable owl character on its face. When the clock is blue and the owl is sleeping, it’s bedtime. When the clock is yellow and the owl is awake, it’s time to get up. Our tiny tester loved checking on the owl before bed, and it became part of their bedtime routine to say goodnight to the owl before climbing into bed.
While the default screen is quite bright, the clock comes with adjustable screen brightness to ensure the right level of light for your toddler, or if they prefer to sleep in the dark the screen brightness can be turned off completely.
There’s an option to turn on the digital time display, which is great for little ones who are starting to learn how to tell the time, and there’s also an optional alarm which you can turn on for routine wake-up times. All in all, it’s a handy, effective piece of kit that kids will understand and be engaged with from the outset.
Buy now £29.99, Amazon
Hatch Rest+ 2nd Gen
This device bills itself as the “ultimate smart sleep machine”, and it certainly has all the bases covered when it comes to getting your little ones to nod off. The main difference between this device and many others on the market is that it caters to a variety of different ages and stages.
For babies, there’s a range of continuous white noise sounds to soothe them to sleep, as well as a gently glowing nightlight to make middle-of-the-night feeds and nappy changes easier.
For toddlers, you can activate the Time-for-Bed and Time-to-Rise settings, which feature combinations of light and sound that become their bedtime and wake-up cues. And for bigger kids, you can sign up to the Hatch Sleep Membership to access a range of bedtime stories and expertly curated music to help them wind down and find their way to the land of nod.
The device is Wi-Fi controlled, meaning you can change the volume on the sleep sounds that are playing from anywhere via the handy Hatch Sleep App, and the latest release also comes with a backup battery, meaning you can now take it off its charging base and carry it to any room – particularly useful if you happen to have a kiddo that likes to crawl into bed with you in the middle of the night.
Thanks to all these clever features, it is one of the pricier options on the market, but we loved how it worked in different ways for both younger and older children, as well as the fact that it would grow with our family and be useful over a longer period.
Buy now £90.19, Amazon
Purflo Snoozee Clock
This little device is another firm favourite with parents who love it for its simplicity. Designed to look like an alarm clock, the yellow screen with a sun on it tells your kids when it’s time to wake up, while the blue screen with the snoozing moon lets them know they should be in bed.
There are seven levels of adjustable brightness so you can make sure the screen is just right come bedtime, or you can turn it off altogether if your toddler prefers darkness when they doze.
We loved how easy it was to use – even our toddler could figure out how to operate it themselves, but there’s a handy child key lock to make sure they don’t alter the settings accidentally. It’s also popular because it’s fully chargeable, meaning you can move it from room to room and never have to worry about finding a plug socket right next to your child’s bed.
Buy now £30.00, Amazon
Pabobo Kid’s Sleep Alarm Clock
French brand Pabobo is known for making excellent sleep aids, and this kid’s clock is no exception. Aimed at slightly older children from age five upwards, the clock has been designed to help them with learning to tell the time thanks to the dual analogue and digital display.
Kids will love the fact that they can practice reading the hour and minute hands on the analogue face, before checking whether they were right by having a quick look at the digital clock below.
To the side of the clock is a smaller face featuring a picture of a sun and a moon – when the sun is lit up, it’s time to get up, while the moon lets them know they should still be in bed. There’s also an alarm function which can be changed via the large mushroom button on the top of the clock, which comes with a snooze function and three progressive alarms – perfect for getting them out of bed on school days.
We were relieved to find out there was also an alarm lock, so little hands weren’t able to mess with the alarm times. The clock functions on AA batteries, but can also be charged at the mains, making it portable and versatile.
Buy now £39.99, John Lewis
Sam the Lamb Clock
This adorable sheep-shaped sleep trainer is a great option for younger kids, who will fall in love with Sam as soon as they lay their eyes on him (or at least that was the case for our tiny tester).
This toddler clock is also a little more nuanced than others on the market in that it operates on a traffic light system, offering three options instead of just two. When the clock face is red that means it’s nighttime and they should be asleep; when it’s yellow it means it’s almost time to wake up, and 12 little stars start to disappear one by one as it counts down the remaining 30 minutes; when the clock is green that means it’s time to get up.
When the clock is red or orange Sam’s eyes stay closed, while when it turns green, they open – another indicator our tester loved looking out for each morning. The clock also comes with a nightlight that can be adjusted or switched off altogether, an alarm clock function for older children who need to wake up for school and a nap timer that can be varied depending on the length of each nap.
Buy now £39.99, Amazon
Maxi-Cosi Soothe Light & Sound
This option from the well-known baby brand Maxi-Cosi is another great choice if you’re looking for something that will grow with your child. The device can be used from birth, when its soothing lights, sounds and sleep-inducing lullabies work together to help settle your baby into a sleep routine.
As they grow from a newborn to a toddler, the personalised ‘time-to-rise’ settings help them learn when it’s the right time to get up. Everything is accessed via a handy app, where you can programme and adjust music, light and colour brightness to create your own bespoke environment for your nursery.
The device has been created as part of the brand’s Connect Home range, which also includes a baby monitor, humidifier and crib light. All of them work from the same app and can be connected to seamlessly work together. For example, if the monitor detects your baby is waking up, you can program the Soothe Light & Sound to automatically turn on to comfort them.
Our tester liked how intuitive it was, as well as the fact that the sleek, stylish design fitted into the nursery decor without drawing too much attention to itself.
Buy now £59.49, Amazon
V-Hush Sleep Training Soother
For an all-round approach, it’s worth investing in this sleep training soother from VTech. It prides itself on featuring the WeeSleep Sleep Program, a complete program created by a global sleep expert that combines light, sounds and tips to encourage healthy habits for your child that should ensure the whole household gets a good night’s kip.
The sleep training function glows red to tell little ones they should stay in bed, and green when it’s time to get up. But there’s a whole host of other whizzy features that should help them stay in bed for longer, including 50 stories, 100 classical songs, 10 lullabies and 10 natural sounds. You can even record their favourite story or song in your own voice, all of which will be played over the 360-degree Bluetooth speaker.
With over 250 colours to choose from as a nightlight and a glow-on-ceiling projector included at the top of the device, it’s a great all-in-one option to invest in.
Buy now £44.99, Amazon
Misty the Smart Cloud
This sweet-looking cloud gets top marks for being one of the cuter offerings on the market right now. Not only is it attractive, but it also bundles three clever features into one device. As well as having a sleep trainer mode that tells your toddler when it’s the right time to wake up, it also acts as a nursery thermometer, so you can make sure their room is the perfect temperature. There is also a soothing colour therapy mode that creates a mini light show to help your toddler drift off.
Misty the Smart Cloud links to a mobile phone app so you can check in on your baby’s sleep environment wherever you are, and even links to your Alexa so you can make changes when you might have your hands full with something else. We loved how intuitive it was and felt it was a great addition to help create the optimum environment for a good night’s sleep in the nursery.
Buy now £29.99, Misty
Verdict
When it comes to a simple and effective toddler training clock, you can’t go wrong with the Tommee Tippee Groclock, which takes the guesswork out of getting little ones to go to bed and wake up at the right time.
If you’re looking for something with a few more bells and whistles, my other top pick would be the Hatch Rest+ 2nd Gen, which will grow with your child and be a valuable addition to your home for years to come.
