We then get our kisses and cuddles from BattleKid and just before we put him into his cot we say “Night-night Mr Star”. In 2007 I was having a shower, when an idea arrived in my head for a children's clock that would help my son William to know when it was time to get up in the morning. We have tried pretty much everything with J over the last 3 years and barely anything has actually worked, so I was delighted for us to be able to review The Gro Clock from The Gro Company as I have heard good things about them. Those stars then disappear one by one throughout the night until morning when the last star goes and the big sun reappears. The Gro-Clock is also great for helping during time changes, either before travelling to a place in a different time zone or when gaining or losing an hour in the spring and autumn.

Hailed by many, including one of my personal friends, as the best product they’ve invested in for helping to ensure their little ones do not get up too early, I was a little apprehensive as to how the Gro Clock would be received by BattleKid, bearing in mind he is only 20 months old. It is also ideal if your child needs to get up in the night to go to the toilet – it is just enough for them to see where they are going without needing the main light on. They both understood the concept straight away and on the first night they understood what the stars and the sunshine were telling them.

Suitable from 2 years, the clock is designed to teach children when it’s time to sleep and when it’s time to wake up, either at nap time or in the morning. He’s been sleeping through the night and on a Monday – Wednesday is still fast asleep when it’s time for us to take him to nursery and I’m always filled with guilt when we have to wake him. When setting up the Gro-clock, the instructions say to try not to let your child see you setting the clock up and I wish I had of read that first as Mia watched me playing with the clock and she decided she would quite like to ‘set’ the clock herself for the next week! Using images of the stars and the sun, and colours to represent each (blue and yellow, respectively), the clock teaches your kid when he’s supposed to be sleeping and when he’s allowed to wake up, using the times you've preset. I found the gro clock tricky to set up the first time and to be honest its on all the time so I haven’t had to do it since but we use it as a great nightlight for Mia’s room on one of the lowest settings so it works for us.

For the second night I used this function and the next morning they both stayed in bed until the yellow sun appeared.As with all Gro products, these are well thought out, practical, easy to use and designed with children and parents in mind.

As your child gets older, parents can choose to set the optional audible alarm – perfect for routine wake-up times.

I am currently looking for the right literary agent and publisher to help me get my books out around the world. The instructions, I found personally, quite overly confusing, even with only 3 buttons on the clock, the instructions seem a bit tricky to follow. The first day I set the clock, I wasn’t 100% sure I had set it right and there was no way to test it beforehand. The Gro-Light is such a soft blue light that offers enough light for reassurance without being stimulating.