Alarm Clocks

I had an alarm clock when I was eight and was so proud of it. It meant that I was 'old enough' and responsible enough to get myself up on time.

I would say it all depends on the child. My children are 6 and 9 and have used alarms for over over a year now. They both get up in the morning, make their beds, get dressed, brush their teeth, and then look at books or play until it's time to leave for school.

11 years old is old enough.

Just get a clock for your son. Or a watch that has an alarm on it.
Then, he can set it, and use that to wake himself up in the morning.

That is what my kids do.
My kids are 6 and 10.

My 10 yr old is old enough but I would rather sneek in and give him a wake up kiss!

My oldest who is 9 began using one @ age 5 knows what time it goes off every school morninggets up turns it off not snooze button,need 2 more for my others chidrens rooms 5 & 3 they awaken by my cell phone alarm

I honestly do not recall my mom ever waking me up for school. I had a cool wind up clock with a LOUD alarm. Mom had me set it every night.
I did the same with my boys. They soon did not need an alarm. There is nothing worse than a "startling wake up" much better to wake up on your own for sure.
Usually, after your alarm goes off for a few days in a row, you begin to wake up just prior to it going off.... and your "inner" alarm starts to work.
That's where you really want to get them..... waking up on their own.... eager for the day to start. Life should be fun enough for them that they WANT to get out of the bed in the morning.

My boys share a room. When the older was eight he asked for an alarm clock and started to use it. He got an ipod touch for his tenth birthday with a docking station and he now uses the ipod alarm. Both boys get up with the alarm. Before they got the alarm they just got up on their own, I never really had to wake them up. I doubt there is such thing as too young for an alarm clock, although I suppose some young children might not respond to the alarm. An alarm clock would make a good Christmas gift.

I'm a little unorthodox, but my son has been doing this since he was three(he's been going to school since he was three). He chooses to take a bath every morning, so when he was at his old school, he got up at 6, took his bath, had breakfast by 7, and was on the bus at 7:30.

He's now seven, and he gets up at 6, has his bath, has breakfast by 7, and reads or listens to his classical music until 8, and is on the bus by 8:30.

I started by setting my alarm on my cell(unique ringtones) 10 minutes before he had to wake up, at the time he needed to be up(different ringtone), and when he needed to be out of the tub(third ringtone).

Should he not hear it(which was rare, because that thing is LOUD), I got out and gave him a wake up call.

He doesn't even use it as more than a guideline anymore(unless he's running late, which is maybe twice a year).

When I get a new phone(this flip phone of mine is about as old as my son), the old one is going to be locked out and used just for the alarm clock.

You can get alarm clocks these days that wake up to music, or odd soundbites. Find one that does three programmable wake ups.

Hope this helps.

My 14 year old has been doing this for a long time. She now uses her phone alarm and she wakes up her little sister. Either my husband or I (or both) are usually up so when she was younger if there was a glitch we could wake them.

At 11 she would sleep through the alarm once in a while but hasn't done that in years. It's s good skill to master and does take a bit of practice so start em' young!

Our twins have been using an alarm clock for a year and they just turned 7. Our son is nine and has been getting himself up for a couple years. We always make sure they are up but they get up, make their beds, and get dressed on their own. It is really nice esp. since I work now.

I found an awesome alarm for the girls. You push a button and it resets it for the next day so we don't have to remember to turn it on each night. It does have a snooze button but I didn't show them that. :)
Also, the alarm clocks are on the other side of the room so they have to get up to turn them off.

My daughter is 10 & 5th grade - she has been using her alarm clock on school days for a year now. Sometimes, maybe like once a week, she might shut it off & go back to sleep and I'll have to go wake her up. But for the most part, she wakes up and takes a shower before I'm even out of bed. She likes to go slow in the morning and take her time, lounge around, lay in bed and wake up......... So it works better for her to wake up earlier and she can get ready slower. Makes our mornings so much more enjoyable!

My 9 year old sets her own alarm and gets up. I still wake my 14 yo up every morning:). Shows you that all kids are different.

My kids want their own alarm clocks, but I said No simply because they share a room (their choice) and the older one needs to get up more than an hour before the younger. So for now, I wake them when the time comes. They get up right away without any fuss, eat and get dressed, etc on their own. I just wake them. I'm up anyway, so is no biggie. When they have the same schedule or stop sharing a room, they can have an alarm.

I'm so thankful that my kids don't have any problems in the morning. My brothers, and some of my kids friends, can't seem to get moving even if you set their bed on fire.

Totally depends upon you and your household. My daughter could do it. She is 11. My son has tried and it was an epic fail. He is 14. He has always been a very heavy sleeper, and still is. He doesn't hear his alarm clock. Seriously.
My husband works shift work, and sometimes he gets in really late and is still sleeping when the kids need to get up for school. I wake just before my alarm goes off most of the time, and can turn it off early or just at the moment it begins to go off. My son... doesn't hear his. At all. I'll hear it from my room at the OTHER END OF THE HOUSE (and so will my husband) and I'll go fumble around trying to turn it off before my husband is wakened (and gets mad) and my son will still be asleep right through it.

If your son is a "normal" sleeper, he is probably ready. If he is not, YOU may not be ready. ;)

Ya...he is old enough. Take him out and let him pick out an alarm. Work together setting it.

My 12(13 in a few weeks) son has been waking himself up since getting his itouch last Christmas. But..it recently broke and so we are waking him up. I kinda like going in and seeing him all peaceful, sweet and cozy. Then I rub his back and as he wakes up and we talk abit about the day. It has made for some very peaceful mornings...and a nice transition.

But..I think we need to get him back into being responsible for waking himself up. Might be getting him a cheap alarm soon.

My daughter asked for an alarm clock when she was 7 so we got her one. Then when my son entered kindergarten he wanted one too so we got him one too. So my daughter had been waking up with an alarm clock for three years and this is my son's second year waking up with one.

Good luck!

11 is not too young. He's a pre-teen, & this is a perfect time to allow him some autonomy in the morning rituals. :)

Both of my sons had alarm clocks in grade school. They both enjoyed the responsibility. I think they were both about 8yo when they asked for an alarm clock.

My daughter got her own alarm clock this past year and honestly its been more trouble than its worth. Going off at the wrong times so annoying to me. I have an alarm clock that plays music and it wakes me up. I hope that she gets use to it soon andd puts the music on not the alarm part

My 10 year old did it for a little while but stopped. But my oldest started about 2 years ago and he does great. But he's much more mature than my youngest and a morning person. It all depends on the child. My youngest is not a morning person and even waking him up once does not always do it. So you might try it and see if it works for you but don't be too disappointed if it doesn't right away.