Wednesday, May 13, 2009

My Tot Clock - Review & Giveaway


Web md's definition of sleep deprivation:
"A sufficient lack of restorative sleep over a cumulative period so as to cause physical or psychiatric symptoms and affect routine performances of tasks."

As a mom, this definition is all too familiar, right? It seems like as moms, we make a lot of sacrifices, one of them being sleep. I don't know how many times I've woken up with Chandler trying to climb into bed with DH and me, or feel someone breathing on me and wake up to find Chan staring me right in the face. Many times I've wondered how I could get him to stay in bed. Now there's something that will do just that: My Tot Clock. 
As taken from the My Tot Clock Website:
"My Tot Clock is an all-in-one sleep aid, alarm clock, nightlight, and timer for children ages 2+"

Pros: My Tot Clock is another great mom inspired company. Pamela Gonzalez was a sleep deprived mom who needed to teach her son to stay in bed and establish a routine. Thus, My Tot Clock was born.
I love how many functions this clock performs. Across the top of the clock, there are five different colored buttons. Each one correlates to a different activity.
Green = Encouragement
Red = Discipline
Light Blue = Naptime
Yellow = Awake Time
Dark Blue =Sleep Time

The face of the clock lights up each of these colors too, which makes it easy for a child to know what to expect. One function of this clock we've actually used a lot is the discipline. Since Chandler is 3 years old, when he gets in trouble, he goes to the naughty spot for 3 minutes. A lot of times it was hard for me to gauge how long he was in his naughty spot and it was a pain to always run to the oven to turn on the timer. Now I just make sure that My Tot Clock is close, we are able to set it to 3 minutes, and push the button. Chandler knows while the clock is red he is to stay in time out. Once his time is up, the clock isn't red anymore and a buzzer signals to let him know it is over. He is no longer trying to weasel his way out of time out, and I'm amazed at how effective this is.
Another button we really like is the sleep time. You can preset the sleep time button to the time your child normally goes to bed, and the bedtime routine will automatically start at that time. You can choose to have music, a story, and even white noise. Chandler loves to sit on his bed and listen to the story; it actually makes him excited to go to bed.

If you miss bedtime, or want to put your child to bed earlier, you can manually start the bedtime routine, which is nice. Once the bedtime routine is over, my tot clock makes a great night light and shines blue to know your child is to go to sleep. When we first started using this, I thought the blue light was way too bright. I then realized there was a dimmer on the back. How nice that someone has already thought of that.
You can also set an "alarm" so your child knows when it's ok and time to get out of bed. The clock will turn yellow and fun wake music starts to play.
My Tot Clock is very easy to use and has different cartridges you can buy and change out for the bedtime stories. The faceplate is also interchangable, and with 10 different choices, there's bound to be something for everyone!

Cons: I feel like the story that plays at bedtime is a bit fuzzy/static when you listen to it on the clock. Chandler doesn't seem to mind it, but I notice it. There were a couple different functions that I was also confused about when we first got My Tot Clock. For example, a few days after I got the clock, the face turned red and I couldn't figure out why it was doing this. Thanks to the FAQ on the My Tot Clock website, I was able to get my question answered. This particular page on their website is very helpful as it lists all FAQ's as well as tips and an online version of the user's guide. If you are planning on buying the Tot Clock, I would definitely bookmark this page.

The Bottom Line: A must have for parents with young children. Creates structure for different activities in an easy to understand way for you and your child. 

Price: $49.95

Where to buy: My Tot Clock

Rating: Great

My Tot Clock has generously agreed to give one of these clocks away!

To Enter:
Visit My Tot Clock and tell me about a feature I didn't mention in this post - 1 entry

Additional Entries:
Blog about this giveaway with links back to Babes and Kids and My Tot Clock - 2 entries
Follow this blog - 1 entry
Enter another giveaway on Babes and Kids (All giveaways are listed on the top right sidebar, just click on one to enter.) - 1 entry
Grab my Blinkie or Button - 1 entry

Please leave each entry as a separate comment!

Contest is open to US residents only and will end May 27th, 11:59 MST. Winner has 48 hours to contact me!

post signature

58 comments:

Unknown said...

I love that this clock allows you to 'set' your childs wake up time back. We need this for our kid. He used to sleep in great, but now we need him to leep in at least 30 minutes more so he can be happy!

MuteX10 said...

I LOVE this clock. I like the noah's ark and princess faceplates. The bedtime stories and lullabies sound excellent as well as the white noise. my big one would probably carry this around with him listening to a story but it would also be great to use the lullabies and white noise for my little one.

The Bluths said...

You can dim the blue light.

This is such a good idea! I would love to use it!

The Bluths said...

I entered the sign language giveaway!

Unknown said...

You can purchase face plates to personalize the clock. Thanks.

kport207 at gmail dot com

Susan said...

I like that you can set the white noise time or leave it on all night. I love that this clock has a handle so my child can carry it around. The clock has a lot of features, it is very neat. The only thing that might make it better is if it had a radio setting. My daughter is a music fanatic and she turns my clock radio on every morning and tries to take it with her.

The Fishers said...

The clock is for kids 2 and older.

The Fishers said...

I follow

The Fishers said...

I have your button

The Fishers said...

I entered another giveaway

Janaca said...

I like that the lullabies automatically will shut off after 30 minutes and white noise will play if you want all night!

Janaca said...

I follow

Janaca said...

I entered the sign language giveaway.

Janaca said...

I have your blinkie!

peg42 said...

I love that the clock plays lullabies and automatically shuts off after 30 minutes.
Thanks so much.

Stephanie said...

plays 30 minutes of music then white noise all night if selected
tvollowitz at aol dot com

aggiemomof2 said...

I like that their website has the research to backup their product! I've been looking for something like this for my son that likes to wake up at 5 am!!!!
sylviarj at yahoo dot com

aggiemomof2 said...

I follow!
sylviarj at yahoo dot com

aggiemomof2 said...

Entered in the Dr. Hippo books giveaway! Thanks!
sylviarj at yahoo dot com

Pam said...

The clock will play bedtime stories, lullabies, fun wake music and/or white noise. Great idea - I so need this for my son!

melacan at hotmail dot com

Pam said...

Follower

melacan at hotmail dot com

Pam said...

Entered the Dr. Hippo giveaway.

melacan at hotmail dot com

Pam said...

Entered the Baby Sign Language book giveaway.

melacan at hotmail dot com

Andrea said...

This clock has white noise

Andrea said...

I follow

MOMFOREVERANDEVER said...

like the white noise

andrea v said...

this is for children two and up. I like that the white noise can continue all night. I also think this will help my daughter understand when it's ok to wake everyone up.

Sara said...

I like that you can change out the face plate and get different designs.
saradavis1 at gmail

Sara said...

follower

Sara said...

entered eebee giveaway

Unknown said...

I like that The red light is for discipline when a little timeout is needed. Simply set the timeout duration and click the red button to activate. The timeout duration should be age-appropriate

Unknown said...

I follow. amsbolda@hotmail.com

allancarol said...

my granddaughter would think i was a god if i gave this to her

The Merry Death said...

The clock lets you know when the batteries are low.
meredycat*lycos*com

The Merry Death said...

follower.
meredycat*lycos*com

Christine said...

I like how there's a money back guarantee if you don't like it... $50 is a lot to spend on a clock, but if it works, its worth it!!

Christine said...

I am a follower!

Christine said...

I also have your button on my blog!

Christine said...

I entered another giveaway!

Cory and Becca said...

i follow your blog

Cory and Becca said...

i have a button on my blog

clc408 said...

I also functions as a nightlight. Thanks for the chance.

clynsg said...

They guarantee that the parents will get better sleep or they can get their money back!

clynsg at yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

The Lullabies shut off after 30 min...I love that as sometimes I will fall asleep before I can go in and turn off his music!

rayreadb said...

The clock can play white noise.

Dove420 said...

The green light means do something good! It's great for any positive timed activity like getting a child to sit on the potty for 2 minutes, brush their teeth for 2 minutes, share a toy for 5 minutes at a time, or be patient while mommy is on the phone. Simply set the encourage duration and click the green button to activate. My Tot Clock will automatically beep and turn to yellow when time is up!

dove42(at)comcast(dot)net

Dove420 said...

I blogged about this giveaway and left a link to you blog

http://craftygrandmasthoughts.blogspot.com/2009/05/great-giveaway.html

dove42(at)comcast(dot)net

Dove420 said...

I blogged about this giveaway and left a link for Tot Clocks

http://craftygrandmasthoughts.blogspot.com/2009/05/great-giveaway.html

dove42(at)comcast(dot)net

Dove420 said...

I added your button to my blog.

http://craftygrandmasthoughts.blogspot.com/

dove42(at)comcast(dot)net

mogrill said...

I really like that it also plays white noise!! Thanks for the chance.
mogrill@comcast.net

The Dreamer said...

the light turns red when the batteries are low!

addeviant006 at gmail dot com

Jennireesa/Jennifer W. said...

You can create a bedtime and waketime routine that is perfect for your child.

Jennireesa/Jennifer W. said...

I follow.

Carol EL said...

You can purchase face plates to personalize it for your child. jelly15301@gmail.com

Carol EL said...

Blog follower. jelly15301@gmail.com

Unknown said...

It measures 9" x 7.5". I like the way you list the cons as well as the pros on this clock.

mail4rosey said...

I learned that the My Tot Clock functions operate off the digital clock on the back of the unit. The analog clock on the front of the unit is simply for introducing your child to the concept of telling time.
msurosey@yahoo.com

tatertot374 said...

Thank you for a great giveaway. I would love to win. I like that this also plays lullabies or white noise. Thank you
tatertot374@sbcglobal.net