DIY “Okay to Wake” Signal

I came across the “Okay to Wake” clocks through a review and Amazon.  I didn’t purchase at the time because we were on deputation.  We have been through the gamut with time zone changes and different sleeping arrangements, and I knew that I wanted to establish new routines once we got home.  The first thing was a regular wake up time.

I was all set to purchase two of these clocks, one for each of the kids rooms.  But I read several negative reviews, including complaints that the clock glowed all night before it turned green in the morning.  I didn’t want a bright light in the room, so this didn’t sit well with me. There is another brand of wake up signal that seemed to be made very cheaply and lots of people said it broke easily.  As I continued to read the reviews on Amazon, I came across one with a brilliant idea.  And I copied it.

The idea with this product is that you set the alarm, but instead of a noise to wake the kids up, the light glows green.  So if the child wakes before the designated time, he has to stay in bed.  But if the green light is on, he is okay to wake up.  I wanted the kids to stop coming out of their rooms at 6 am and then waking everyone else who might have slept a little later. 

These are the items you need to make a DIY “Okay to Wake” signal for your kids’ room:

• Christmas solitaire window candle (not battery operated, and not on a timer).  I found mine at Home Depot for around $4.
• Green night light bulbs (I thought the Christmas bulbs would be great, but they were too big). I found LED nightlight bulbs in a two pack for $5 at Home Depot
• Electrical timer.  I saw these on the Home Depot/Lowes website, but I actually picked them up at Aldi in the Christmas aisle for $2.99 each!

First, put the green bulb in your candle.  Mine has a dial switch to turn on and off, so I set it to “on” and tested that it worked.  Then, set the timer following the instructions.  Mine has tabs for every half hour in each 24 hour day.  Push down the tabs for the hours when you want the device to come on.  I had to set the current time too, as a reference point.  Set the timer to “timer” instead of “override”.  Plug the candle into the timer, and the timer into the wall.  We set our candles to come on from 7am to 9am, so that if the kids wake anytime in between 7 and 9 they know they can get up.

Ours work like a charm, and for two weeks I have been able to get up, shower, have coffee, and read my Bible in quiet and aloneness nearly every day – before my kiddos descend upon the day.  I spent less than $20 to make two of these.