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When I received the Hatch as a gift for my baby shower, I never expected to love it so much. Read a full review here.
But I was surprised to learn that there are more ways to use the Hatch other than what it is marketed for - a sound machine to lull a child (and a parent lol) to sleep. It has done a great job at that with my 2-year old toddler In fact, so well, I don't see us quitting it anytime soon. However, as I have been using it, I realized that it has a number of surprising ways to use it for any age with your children. And if you want to get creative, you can even adapt these strategies for yourself or other adults. Here are 5 ways to use the Hatch. 
1. Morning Wake-Up Call
The Hatch has different colors and sounds, and with the program feature you can program it to change colors and sounds at different times. Even if your child isn't using the sound during the night, you can program a calming sound and color (ie. light blue and birds chirping) as a morning wake-up call. Your child can be conditioned to learn that once that sound or color comes on, he can get out of his bed and room and come get you. Or you will come get her out of the crib. Or your teenager has to get out of bed on the weekend. Or you need to get up yourself. Or, or, or. The research-based calming sensation of both the sound and colors make it much easier to get up. They aren't jarring and abrupt. But, rather, a gentle easing into the day. A cool feature is that you can program the color or sound to get brighter and louder, which is great for anxious kids who are impatient to get out of their room. Pro Tip: Have the sound and light come on and then gradually have it get louder and brighter over a 15 minute period, so your eager child doesn't feel as if he is waiting forever.
2. Quiet Time or Time-Ins
If your child has stopped taking naps, I highly suggested implementing quiet time, and I also recommend doing time-ins regardless of your child's age. During the quiet time or time-in period, have the Hatch set to one color. I would use red as that signifies that no one can move or leave the designated place. When you have decided that quiet time is over, the color will switch to a new color, like green, and all parents or child are free to move or leave. Pro Tip: Play soothing music, like the lullaby sound, to keep your child relaxed and playing quietly in her room. 
3. Homework Time
Not all kids find doing homework enjoyable. Some absolutely detest it. So to make it a lot less daunting and a more pleasurable experience use the Hatch. A 2017 study suggests that white noise and other soothing nature sounds can improve your kids learning, memory, and overall mood. Put on the pacifying melodies and gradually lower the sound and dim the lights to indicate that homework time can end. Pro Tip: Program the Hatch for Homework Time for no more than 30 minutes. After that, the optimal time for attention starts to decrease.
4. Play Stations
Set up play stations around the house. For example, an arts and craft station, an open-ended toy station, a reading station, an exercise station, a water station, or an outdoor station. Then, program the Hatch for each station for about 10 minutes. When a station ends, a sound or a certain color will change on the Hatch indicating it's time to move onto the next activity. Pro Tip: Do not have any of the other toys or objects from the other stations out in plain sight until it's time for that station to begin. Otherwise, your young kid will be distracted. A child is more likely to play with a toy when there are fewer toys around. 
5. Nighttime and Naptime Routines
The goal when getting a child ready for bedtime and nap is to create a consistent, calming environment. The Hatch helps with this. Research shows that the colors pink, green, and blue promote rest, tranquility, and peace, so turn off the lights in your child's room and program the Hatch to switch on those colors. Then, program the Hatch to play soothing melodies that signal your little one's sleepy cues. Viola! Sleepy toddler. This works for adults as well! Pro Tip: Choose the lullaby or running water sounds. They are calming, but not strong enough to put your kid to sleep. Once you put your child down, switch to a stronger sound like the white noise or wind.
The Hatch is such a versatile tool that I highly recommend investing in. It grows with your child and even can be used with parents who are empty nesters. It can calm, signify transitions, and even promote learning and memory. It's my favorite product and worth every penny.
Tell me in the comments if you use the Hatch and how you use it!
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Photo used under Creative Commons from does_not_travel_often
