Ever since Spud transitioned from a crib to a big bed a couple of days short of her second birthday, our mornings had since then became rather disruptive as well. You see, with Spud’s new sense of freedom since the crib, I believe, she thinks that it would be absolutely acceptable, not to mention extremely exciting and fun, to wake her parents up at the ungodly hours of 5.15 am. Every. Single. Day.

When that happens, we would usually send her straight back to her room. She would go kicking, screaming and waking up the dead, but would usually comply. For ten minutes. And then it would start all over again. By the 5^thtime of going back and forth every 5 minutes (at best!) thereafter, we both would either allow her to join us in bed and/or be completely wide awake. Spud would make it near impossible for either one of us to fall back to sleep as she just would not be able to keep still.

Enter the electrical timer:

How this work is that a socket-located light timer that’s attached to a lamp or a night light will switch on the electric current, allowing the night-light to be turned on at that specific time. The time can be modified and set manually, and when the light is on, it becomes a cue for Spud as it tells her that she can now come out of her bed.

Shared by a friend in Holland, it took us a while to find this nifty little device in Bangkok (we finally found it at Home Pro). This tip has been a life saver for us to relish that much needed half an hour in the morning as  this little trick helps the kids learn the concept of waiting for when it’s time. And that means as long as the light does not come on, she stays in bed!

Spud’s a funny little creature, and when it comes to routine, she can be quite a stickler for it. It took Spud two days to get used to it, and as soon as she did, she actually had gotten quite upset the first few times when we told her that she could already get out of bed even when the light was not on as the device was not set up properly the night before.

On days like that, it always makes me smile in glee when I think how she would be watching the lamp intently the moment she wakes up while anticipating for the light to go on so she could make a dash to our bed as quickly as she could!