My reviews are informed by my life as a working mom who wishes she had the ability to be in two places at once. Yes, they are 18 months apart, and no, it was not planned that way. I live in Los Angeles with my husband and our two children: a son who is 9, and a daughter who is 7. I was a comedian and freelance comedy writer for many years before joining the staff at Reviewed as the Parenting editor. How We Tested Alarm Clocks for Kids The Tester That being said, it's incredibly easy to turn off with a quick push of the "alarm" button, you just have to remember to do it on a set schedule. Once you set the alarm, it's active until you manually turn it off, which means that we had a number of weekend mornings where my 7-year-old woke up before she had to because I forgot to disable the alarm. The one thing the LittleHippo Mella is lacking, however, is the ability to set an alarm schedule. The sound is a classic white noise-almost identical to that put out by the Marpac Dohm white noise machines we've been using for years-which makes the Mella a great option if you're looking to minimize gadgets in your child's room. It didn't seem to be significantly louder than the other alarms, but something about the tone of the Mella's alarm made it the best choice for waking kids up and getting them out of bed in time for an early school drop off.Īnother feature that I really appreciated about the Mella is the built-in white noise machine that can be easily activated with the push of a button. While some of the other models worked from time to time, the Mella worked every time. One of the biggest reasons the Mella took the top spot is because it is the only alarm clock we tested that was consistently loud enough to wake kids out of a deep slumber. As proven by my two kids, you can have a kid who gets up with the sun and one who would sleep the day away, and the Mella can serve both of their needs. While it can be tempting to buy a kids' clock that serves just one purpose-either to help them wake up or keep them in bed, depending on the sleep issue you're facing-having a multi-functional clock like the Mella is far more practical in the long run. It works as both an "OK to wake clock" as well as a traditional alarm clock, it has a built-in night light and white noise machine, and it was simple to set and easy to snooze. While that may not sound like a big deal, if you want your kids to use an alarm clock, you're going to need their buy-in, and-as we discovered with some of the other models we tested-they were far less inclined to put the clock in their room if they didn't like the way it looked.Īside from its cuteness quotient, the Mella has a lot going for it. Both of my kids loved the look of this alarm clock-specifically the cute face that shows on the digital display-and every kid who came over for a playdate was intrigued by it, too. This is the clock that can take you from the toddler years through the big kid years and will likely only be retired once your teenager deems it no longer cool. With its cute design that appealed to both of my kids, built-in white noise machine, and its ability to function as both an alarm clock and an OK to wake clock, the LittleHippo Mella can help with a variety of sleep issues.įor an alarm clock that really can do it all, you can't beat the LittleHippo Mella. After weeks of early mornings-as well as a dreaded time change-we found that the LittleHippo Mella I tested seven popular alarm clocks for kids to see if there really is an alarm clock that could work for early risers and sleepy heads alike. Is it possible that there's a magical clock that would be effective at keeping an early bird in bed, while also serving up enough noise to wake a sleeping beauty? If you're a parent who is at their wit's end because your 9-year-old wakes up before the sun (hello, me) or your 7-year-old never wakes up in time for school (also me), you may be wondering if an alarm clock designed just for kids could be the answer to your problems. Whether it's a toddler who gets up too early or a tweenager who gets up too late, there's no end of sleep related issues to keep parents perpetually exhausted. The most common complaint amongst parents almost always revolves around sleep.
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