Need a good alarm clock - any suggestions?

[nhcowboy1]

I need an alarm clock that will actually get my adolescent son out of bed in the morning. Me going in and yelling at him - much as I enjoy doing it - is not working! And the alarms I've tried so far, he just sleeps through.

I've seen ads for everything from a helicopter-type thing that spins into the air when the alarm sounds, to a "sonic bomb" alarm that makes noise and shakes the bed, to an alarm clock on wheels that jumps off the table and runs away when the alarm sounds. (Although the last one I don't completely understand - if it rolls far enough, then why can't you just ignore it and go back to sleep? )

Has anyone tried any of these - or do you have any suggestion for something even better?

 

[hotsauce]

I need an alarm clock that will actually get my adolescent son out of bed in the morning. Me going in and yelling at him - much as I enjoy doing it - is not working! And the alarms I've tried so far, he just sleeps through.

I've seen ads for everything from a helicopter-type thing that spins into the air when the alarm sounds, to a "sonic bomb" alarm that makes noise and shakes the bed, to an alarm clock on wheels that jumps off the table and runs away when the alarm sounds. (Although the last one I don't completely understand - if it rolls far enough, then why can't you just ignore it and go back to sleep? )

Has anyone tried any of these - or do you have any suggestion for something even better?

Yeah, encourage him to get to bed on time. He's probably staying up too late. Also make sure he's not sleeping in on weekends as it throws off the rhythm (circadian?)

 

[Sun Baked]

A bed that dumps you into a vat of ice water if you hit the snooze twice might work.

Heck doing that and putting in a webcam hooked to the alarm and selling the 30 minute block when the alarm goes off might even be better.

 

[nhcowboy1]

Yeah, encourage him to get to bed on time. He's probably staying up too late.

Oops - busted! If you look at what time I started this thread, you know that getting to bed on time isn't my strong suit . . . But I'm hoping that by getting him a good alarm clock, and making him responsible for getting himself up, he'll also learn to get himself to bed on time.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

Yeah, encourage him to get to bed on time. He's probably staying up too late. Also make sure he's not sleeping in on weekends as it throws off the rhythm (circadian?)

Does not always work. I had a roommate no matter what time he went to bed he would have trouble getting up in the morning. Plus the guy could sleep though almost any alarm clock. Hell I once end up having my alarm go off for over an hour and he just slept though it.

Something I did personally for an alarm clock was take my stero and have it blast music to get me up. Later in life I used my computer.

Now I use my phone and a 15 buck alarm clock.

My suggestion is get an alarm clock that makes a lot of noise and forces the kid to get out of bed to turn it off.

 

[Sun Baked]

Moving the alarm clock to the other side of the room does help some, others just put the pillow over their head and go back to sleep.

Though getting rid of the pillow might also work if he fails to turn the alarm off.

 

[motulist]

I have a radical suggestion that you almost definitely aren't going to seriously consider, but I'll toss it out there anyway.

Adolescents and teenagers are biologically not designed to wake up early, and it is detrimental to their health and development to try to cut their sleep short or wake them up much earlier than their body is signaling them to do. So you should really consider ways to orchestrate his life that will be in harmony with his body and developmental needs rather than requiring him or her to harmfully fight their biology, which'll definitely put them in a worse mood all the time, could possibly hurt their health, retard and curtail their development, and will probably lead to endless fights and a resultant emotional disconnect between you two.

I don't know how you were as a teen or how well you remember those times, but I do, and I know how impossible it was for me to wake up in the mornings.

So I suggest that you don't need a better alarm clock, you need a better way to accommodate your child's need for more sleep and later wake ups.

I'm hardly a scientific expert on the topic or a person with real world experience in raising a kid, so I don't know jack about jack, I'm just passing along information that I've heard about which I think is very applicable to the situation you've presented here.

EDIT:
Here's a good quote on the topic from current literature:

high-school-age children appear to undergo a shift in their biological 'body clock,' which tells them when to rise and go to bed, he says: "There's some evidence that teenagers' biological clock may be programmed to start turning off later at night and turn on later in morning." According to the National Sleep Foundation report, studies have shown that the typical high school student's natural bedtime is 11 p.m. or later.

http://www.webmd.com/news/20000821/teen-sleep-deprivation-serious-problem

 

[hotsauce]

Oops - busted! If you look at what time I started this thread, you know that getting to bed on time isn't my strong suit . . . But I'm hoping that by getting him a good alarm clock, and making him responsible for getting himself up, he'll also learn to get himself to bed on time.

Ok then, try this. Heck, I might pick one up myself.

 

[gadgetgirl85]

Ok then, try this. Heck, I might pick one up myself.

That's awesome!

 

[PowerFullMac]

I got one called Clocky that has wheels so when it goes off it goes around your room and really anoys you until you get up and chase it to turn it off!

EDIT: Just read your first post properly!

 

[nhcowboy1]

I have a radical suggestion that you almost definitely aren't going to seriously consider, but I'll toss it out there anyway . . . you need a better way to accommodate your child's need for more sleep and later wake ups.

Oh, heck yes, I'd consider it! I agree absolutely. The ridiculously early schedules that require some kids to be on a school bus at 6:30 am are disastrously bad for them. My kid was home schooled until a year ago, and I'd be happy to do it again, for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that we'd be able to set our own schedule. But he's at an age where he wants to be at school and be able to hang out with kids his own age . . . which is why I'm making him responsible for his own morning wake ups: either he's up in time to go to school, or he won't be going to school anymore.

Ok then, try this.

I love it - but I have to find something that's more dog-proof than that would be. Those puzzle pieces would be gone the first morning we tried it!

 

[nhcowboy1]

I got one called Clocky that has wheels so when it goes it it goes around your room and really anoys you until you get up and chase it to turn it off!

Right - that's one of the ones I was looking at. So you find it works well? And it doesn't roll so far away that you can just ignore it?

I think, in our case, it would scare the crap out of the dog - who would then bark and chase it and make it even more effective!

 

[PowerFullMac]

Right - that's one of the ones I was looking at. So you find it works well? And it doesn't roll so far away that you can just ignore it?

I think, in our case, it would scare the crap out of the dog - who would then bark and chase it and make it even more effective!

It turns and goes in random directions, it dosent just go in a certain direction, but how effective it is depends on how big the room is really, but it is loud when it goes off and its not just beeping like normal alarm clocks it does random noises and stuff.

I think with the dog chasing it, it will be very effective for you!

 

[Abstract]

Pinch his arm very hard, and tell him that this will happen every single morning until he learns to wake up by himself. If he's not awake by the time you enter his room, then do it without warning.

If pinching doesn't work, there's always a baseball bat....

 

[LeahM]

Pinch his arm very hard, and tell him that this will happen every single morning until he learns to wake up by himself. If he's not awake by the time you enter his room, then do it without warning.

If pinching doesn't work, there's always a baseball bat....

I believe thats called Child Abuse. I would suggest against that.

Quick Question: Does he wake up groggy? I know alot of times, people who wake up groggy in the morning are usually iron deficient. Try giving him something a little more high in iron the night before a nd see how he wakes up. Give him a steak or something.

Other then that, does he have a cellphone? I know people become more alert when their cell phone comes on because they are tuned into it. I use mine in the morning, its really annoying but it wakes me up.

Or look for an alarm clock thats designed to wake someone up who is hard of hearing. Or you could install a commercial fire alarm in his room, equipt with flashing lights and everything.

 

[00hkelly]

I am an 18 year old student lodging in a house away from home and am the only one responsible for waking myself up. There is a skylight in my room and I find that I naturally wake up quite early due to the dawn and sunlight slowly waking me up. This means that when the alarm goes off you are already basically awake (if not actually awake and up) and simply get out of bed (last night I went to bed at 3.30am, but woke up at 9.30am naturally because my room was flooded with light, ended up getting out of bed before my alarm went off at 10). I just talked myself into getting one of these when I no longer have a skylight.

I heard about this a while back and it seems a good idea. Read the description below/follow link for a better idea of how it performs

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-HF3461-Wake-Up-Light-Alarm/dp/B000VI7K2C

"The Philips Wake-Up Light Alarm Clock is fantastic. I have been using it everyday for the last two weeks. Although the function is fairly simple it works well. I hate mornings and I don't particularly like winter so I was keen to give this a try. It basically slowly wakes you up by increasing the light intensity over a 30 minute period, this works really well. The light itself is very powerful, you can alter the settings to any intensity you want. I picked the highest so that at the end of the 30 minutes it is like having sunlight streaming through the window.

I used to wake up with a jolt to my mobile phone alarm but the Philips Wake-Up Light Alarm Clock really allows you to wake up naturally and slowly. I’ve been using the alarm beep setting during the week just to make absolutely sure I catch my train; I have tried all the alarms, beeping, radio, running water and dawn chorus (which is my favourite). The birds start of imperceptibly and increase in sound so you wake to sunshine and birds - very nice. The biggest thing for me is that by the time you wake up and are conscious you don't feel like rolling over and going straight back to sleep again you are awake enough to get straight out of bed.

You can use the light on its own as a bed side light. You can select both light intensity easily and also loudness of sound. Setting the alarm is also very easy, in fact the whole operation is very simple, you could easily dispense with the instruction manual and just use the quick start guide that comes separately. And should you still need to you can snooze the Philips Wake-Up Light Alarm Clock too (although I haven’t needed this option).--Jeremy Paterson, Amazon.co.uk"

 

[nhcowboy1]

Okay, so here's what I've culled from the most recent replies . . . .

Use the Philips Wake-Up Light in the winter. Use a baseball bat in the summer. Use the Nanda Clocky run-around alarm clock in the fall and spring. Eat lots of meat in the evening. And don't answer the door when protective services shows up.

Have I missed anything?

 

[ham_man]

Just walk into his room, sit down, start talking and then don't stop until he gets up.

Believe me: his desire for you to shut up will be much greater than his desire to remain asleep.

 

[LeahM]

Just walk into his room, sit down, start talking and then don't stop until he gets up.

Believe me: his desire for you to shut up will be much greater than his desire to remain asleep.

I believe he said he doesn't wake up to the sound of the alarm so I don't think talking will help either.

 

[nhcowboy1]

I believe he said he doesn't wake up to the sound of the alarm so I don't think talking will help either.

Ahhh . . . you're not taking into account the adolescent male's inherent aversion to parental input.

 

[comictimes]

Go for the one that shakes the bed... the guy living across the hall from me last year had one and it was pretty much the only thing that got him up in the morning. Plus it much easier on the rest of the house than having to listen to a blaring alarm that your son is sleeping through (that's my room mate this year )

 

[Patrick425]

yeah i ALWAYS sleep through my alarm. i can NEVER wake up by an alarm.