Sam the Lamb – does a sleeptrainer work for a two-year-old?
By Femke Dam
Sam the sleeptrainer: a miracle or disaster
Anyone with a toddler knows that life is all about making compromises and having patience. At least we could use a bit of sleep… Recently clocks changed one hour backwards and that is not really in our favor. Coming period will probably result in earlier mornings. Nevertheless, does a sleeptrainer work for a two-year-old…?
I am awake!
When our littlest one, Jonas, decided to sleep for a sufficient time, Tijmen decided it was a good plan to wake up every morning at 5am and stand in our bedroom saying loud and clear: ‘I am awake! Are you also awake mama?’ A little bit yes.. But I would prefer to sleep for another 1.5 – 2 hours. Deal? Time to come into action! Tijmen is 2 years and three months and around this age a sleeptrainer might be a bit too early. Would he understand the concept? We decided to try and for the past couple of months we tested Sam the lamb, a sleeptrainer from ZAZU. Read more in this blog how it went.
Sam’s arrival
A parcel was delivered and as always this was welcomed with a lot of enthusiasm. Tijmen beliefs each parcel is addressed to him. To be honest, this is often the case. Time to unwrap the gift! Oh, a lamb! Moreover, a very special lamb. Tijmen was immediately fascinated by Sam, so we started to use Sam from the first day.
Lamb is green!
‘Mom! Mom! Sam is awake!’ That is how I woke up the next morning… Proud as a peacock Tijmen showed us Sam, eyes open and a green belly. Actually it is still at the crack of dawn but that is our mistake as we set the wake up time way too early. But the first 40 minutes of extra sleep is a fact! The days after Tijmen is starting to understand the concept of the sleeptrainer: ‘when Sam is green it is OK to wake up, orange means wait a little longer and red I should be sleeping’. Easy peasy. Every day we set the wake up time 5 minutes longer en gradually we are making progress. It seems to work and we are getting the extra sleep we desperately needed – all parents know that sleep is so valuable.
Back to square one
Unfortunately Tijmen had enough of Sam after a week of 2 or 3. He knows exactly what Sam does but refuses to behave accordingly. Bags under our eyes are starting to grow again, frustrating! How tired can someone be… When we explain to him that he can only come to us when Sam turned green he just starts crying really loud. And that is not really appreciated as he sleeps in one room with Jonas who then also wakes up. It feels like we are back where we started.
Now he can lie with us in our bed, sleep a little bit and when Sam is green he can watch a movie. Slowly this ritual goes better. At the beginning he sat straight in our bed saying ‘I can’t sleep anymore’. But, we persisted and it is working. Sometimes Tijmen even sleeps until Sam turns green! This is extraordinary but when it happens he is very proud.
Currently everything is going pretty well, when Tijmen is awake he enters our bedroom with his favorite toys (monkey, rabby, Boris), nightlight and Sam. Without saying much he nestles between us en continues sleeping for a little while. When the sleeptrainer indicates it is OK to wake up Tijmen does not hesitate to let us know this fact: ‘Sam is awake! He is green!’ We are satisfied with this solution as we are getting extra sleep and Jonas too.
Is Sam the sleeptrainer a good product?
Yes, it is definitely a good sleeptrainer. It is easy to understand for a child, to me that is the most important feature. The screen shows a comfortable brightness and you can optionally select an automatic one of the buttons the light goes on again.
In general I sometimes have difficulties setting up the alarm. The menu locks itself after you finish setting it up. The key lock is designed to prevent your child from changing the settings. Nevertheless, Tijmen found out how to unlock the menu and mixed up the settings multiple times, which resulted in keeping an eye on the settings from time to time.
Regarding the design I think it is a missed opportunity that Sam is made of hard plastic. According to me it would have been better if Sam was made of softer materials. Such as Pam the penguin, this is another sleeptrainer from ZAZU. Perhaps it is more toddler proof in case the product falls on the ground. But, it is a sleeptrainer, not a toy as Tijmen thinks.
A useful addition to your nursery
Conclusive, we all think Sam is a great addition to our family. When we were on a holiday Tijmen even asked several times where Sam was: ‘is Sam awake already?’ It was unexpected that we were talking about Sam on such a distance from home. For our two-year-old a sleeptrainer definitely works up to a certain level! We are getting more and more sleep. Tijmen is an early bird, which is clear.
Disclaimer: All thoughts and opinions are my own and have not been influenced in any way by ZAZU Kids.
Femke,