Groclock alternative: a sleep trainer clock app
If you are looking for a Groclock alternative, you are probably not looking for another clock. The things parents say about the Groclock on Mumsnet, the UK parents' forum, are about the box: it is fiddly to set, it loses the time when it is unplugged, it is bright, and not every two-year-old takes to it. For a family that flies home for the summer, it is also one more device in the suitcase. A sleep trainer clock on a tablet answers most of that, and the Groclock still wins on one thing. Here is the honest comparison.
What parents say about the Groclock
From threads on Mumsnet, a UK parents' forum, that we read on 12 November 2026:
- It is fiddly to set up. Settings live on the clock’s buttons, so a change means standing by the bed.
- It loses the time of day if it is switched off at the plug, and the night and nap settings are easy to mix up, so it can wake at the wrong time.
- It is bright at night for some children, though it can be dimmed.
- Children take to it at different ages: some just after two, some nearer two and a half, and some not at all.
Those are parents' reports, not ours, and plenty of families are happy with it. It is the sleep trainer clock the UK knows, so it is a familiar one to families who moved to the Gulf from there. It costs nothing to run, and it does not need a tablet. On a trip it is one more thing to pack, and new times are set on the clock itself.
The comparison
Facts about the Groclock were checked on 12 November 2026 from Tommee Tippee’s own pages. We could not confirm a current price for it from a shop in the UAE that day, so none is given: prices vary by shop, so check before you buy. Facts change too. Snoozaroo is not affiliated with Tommee Tippee.
| Tommee Tippee Groclock | Snoozaroo | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A plug-in clock with a picture face: stars at night, morning at the time you set | A tablet or phone app with a pal, six stars and a sunrise |
| Price | Varies by shop; check before you buy | Free; Plus from AED 10.99 a month, AED 74.99 a year or AED 169.99 once |
| Set from your phone | No, on the clock itself | Yes, every grown-up’s phone, with Plus |
| Change it at night without going in | No | Yes, with Plus, while the app is open on the screen |
| Travelling | One more device in the suitcase, plus its plug; new times set on the clock | The tablet you were taking anyway; one question about the time zone, answered on your phone |
| Routine activities | No | Brush teeth, bath, read a book and more, with Plus |
| Naps | A second wake time | Yes, each with its own stars |
| Works without a tablet | Yes | No |
Where each one wins: the Groclock needs no tablet and no app, and nothing on it can be bought. Snoozaroo wins when you want to change things from your phone, when the routine has to travel, and when you want the bedtime routine on the same screen.
What it costs in practice
A Groclock is a one-off purchase. Snoozaroo’s clock is free, and the things that make it more than a clock are in Plus: AED 10.99 a month, AED 74.99 a year or AED 169.99 once, with 14 days free in the app and no card. Prices are set in Google Play and may change; you always see the current price before you pay.
Moving from a Groclock
Keep the same bedtime and wake time your child already knows, and put the tablet where the clock was. Show them the pal and the six stars at bedtime, and the sun in the morning, with the same words you used before.
Questions
Does Snoozaroo work on a Groclock?
No. It is an app for an Android tablet or phone, with iPad coming later.
Is a tablet screen worse for sleep than a Groclock’s face?
The night scene is dark, dim and still, and the brightness is yours to set. What it does and does not claim is on screens and sleep.
From what age?
For Snoozaroo we say from about two and a half, with most children understanding it by three. Under that, the stars and the pal are still a calm bedtime signal; the “OK to get up” part comes with age. Your family’s paediatrician is the one to ask about your own child.
What happens to the schedule when we travel?
The schedule is stored as clock times in your home time zone. When the tablet is somewhere with a different time zone, Parent mode asks whether to keep home times or use the new time zone from the next sleep. Nothing changes unless you choose. The stars, the pal and the PIN work on the screen itself without Wi-Fi, so a hotel room is fine; only changes sent from your phone need the tablet online. Snoozaroo makes no claim about jet lag or how your child will sleep away from home.
Can grandparents use it at their house?
Yes. Take the tablet, or set up a second screen there, and keep home times or switch to the new time zone from the next sleep. With Plus, their phone can see the screen and send it a wake or an activity while the app is open on it.
Can I try it without paying?
Yes. The clock is free, and every new family gets 14 days of Plus with no card.