Time tracker lighthouse for going to bed without drama.

by Soetmin
(Belgium)

This time tracker lighthouse is making our bedtimes SO much easier! Our son often gets a new energyboost after dinner and could keep playing untill way past bedtime. We do the whole bedtime-routine-thing, but it is starting the routine that gets him to go in toddler-drama-mode.

Also when friends visit in the evening and he gets to stay up a little later, he totally takes advantage and wants to play forever,
We found a great method to deal with this daily tantrum.

We purchased this Time Tracker Lighthouse!

Together we set the alarm so we press the button and the light goes green: okay to play!
When the light turns orange he goes uh-ohhhh and knows this means pyjama time. The light is orange for about 2mins I think so we make it into a race to put on the pyjamas and clean up toys before the light turns red.

When it eventually does turn red, he knows this means bottle-time and up the stairs to bed!
We heat up the bottle while the light is red. After a minute or so an alarm sounds and the lights go out. By that time we are usually already in the bedroom, but if not this warning makes him run upstairs even faster. He loves it. So do we!

The system works wonderfully well for us. Our son is almost conditionned, like Pavlov's dog.
Even when friends are over, we just light the lighthouse and he cooperates! No more drama!

When we have 30 mins left to play before we have to leave the house, we sometimes use it as well: jacket and shoes on when orange, out the door when red!

It isnt the most sleek design, but it does the job!

Our son is now also completely interested in traffic light because of the lighthouse by the way: okay to walk when green, absolutely no walking when red. He saw the link himself and he is only 2yrs old.

Setting the alarm is something I let the man in the house do, but he says it was easy. He loves reading manuals and buttons...
There are two different times you can set, we have a program for 15 mins and one for 30, depending on what time i think of lighting the lighthouse.

I recommend this seemingly simple thing to anyone!
It could be used for so much....how long they have to sit at the table for, how long they can play outside, how long bathtime can last....anything timerelated kids make a fuss over!