Did you have an alarm clock when you were young (elementary school age)?

[Nikia]

The other day, I posted in the "What way are you weird thread?" I had posted about setting my alarm clock for times other than top and bottom of the hour. I had a further discussion in real life with my husband and a friend.
I had mentioned my post to my friend and said that intially my mother set my alarm clock and that it took a while to set my own because she had never shown me how to do it and I couldn't figure it out at first. He thought it was funny that I couldn't figure it out by myself until I mentioned that I got my first alarm clock in first grade and was expected to awake with it. He thought that was weird because he didn't have one until high school. his parents had always awoken him for school before that. My husband, who was there, said that he didn't have an alarm clock until high school. They thought that their situation was more typical than mine.
What about you? When did you start using an alarm clock? I just wonder if my situation was unusual or their situation was or if both situations are common.

[MrSlayer]

1. High school.

My parents always woke me up for school. I would simply ignore an alarm clock anyway, I needed to be nagged and dragged.

[0007]

3. Same here!

[Broken_Hero]

30. I started alarm

clock use in 7th grade. Before hand my dad would usually wake me up. Started using alarm clocks in junior high, and then, started on breaking alarm clocks, from then on...I tend, to slam/hit the snooze buttons a little to hard, sometimes...:)

[Mutley]

2. Yes.

And I set mine for things like 7:19. Where ever it is when I don't feel like hitting the button anymore. :D

[laheina]

4. Maybe junior high, but I didn't really *use* one until high school.

At that point, I had to wake myself up for morning rallies and other before school stuff. :shrug:

[Jazz2006]

5. No...

I didn't use an alarm clock until university when I moved out of my parent's house. Until then, either my parents or one of my siblings would wake me up for school.

[Nikia]

8. Were your siblings responsible for getting themselves up?

I am an oldest. Perhaps this is a difference.

[Jazz2006]

11. There is probably some correlation there.

I am the youngest, so there was always someone older around to wake me up. My parents woke all of us up until around the time I hit high school, and after that, I think the older sibs took it upon themselves to wake themselves up and then awaken we younger sibs.

I don't think they minded it, though, because with 5 kids and only 1 bathroom in the house we grew up in, the older sibs could use the bathroom before waking us up. :)

I don't recall any of the sibs having an alarm clock until at least high school, though.

[barb162]

6. No, Mom had to work at kicking my lazy rear out of bed

[Ariana Celeste]

7. 6th grade.

By that point my mom had a job that she had to wake up real early for work- like way way too early to wake us up. So I set my alarm and woke up my step-sister.

:hi:

[miss_american_pie]

12. Same answer but for the reverse reason

We were shipped out to the middle of nowhere for sixth grade while they renovated the local school, and I had to be up and out way earlier than anyone else.

[blue neen]

9. I had a clock radio from second grade on up.

I can remember listening to reports on the news in the morning about the number of soldiers killed in Viet Nam the day before.

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

10. my father would sing the french national anthem

allons enfants...

or "all hands on deck" since he was a sailor in ww2.

[Left Is Write]

13. Yes. Her name was "Mom."

[ghostsofgiants]

17. Haha, I was going to post the exact same thing.

:P

[JVS]

14. I had clocks that had alarms, but I didn't start using them until HS

I always was up in time for school because my mom would wake me or the noise of dad preparing for work (dressing, showering, clomping around) would wake me.

[fizzgig]

15. i got mine in probably third grade or so

and like you, i set it for odd times (usually allowing for two or three snoozes before i actually have to get up)

[ghostsofgiants]

16. I didn't really start using one regularly until university.

Always had someone around willing to call me up when I needed to be awake.

[liontamer]

18. nope you're weird

:) I didn't get one till middle school. My parents woke me up. I was a kid. and a heavy sleeper. I slept through tornados.

[KitchenWitch]

19. I think I got my first one in like third grade.

[deadparrot]

20. Nope.

I tried, but I would always sleep through it. My dad always ended up coming in and giving me a push.

[MountainLaurel]

21. I had a Big Bird alarm clock

That said "Waaake up, sleephead!" when the alarm went off.

[anarch]

22. yes...it had Batman and Robin on it!

[snacker]

23. No,

my mom woke me up. I think I got an alarm clock in high school, but never used it because my mom woke me then too.

[AccessGranted]

24. Nope

My father had to wake me up for school every day and I was next to impossible to wake up(still am), so my father would sing "From the Halls of Montezuma" at the top of his lungs. That worked!

[Bossy Monkey]

25. I had many, but regarded them as toys

I always liked the folding travel alarm clocks. They were very inexpensive and not at all sturdy and never lasted long. I was never expected to get myself awake with them, though no doubt I did sometimes.

[samplegirl]

26. high school

I just relied on good Ole' ma

[mitchum]

27. I had a clock radio from about 10 on, but no alarm clock before then

[Whoa_Nelly]

28. Had this one when I was a kid

Used to set it for 5AM so I could get up and go roller skating. There would be no one up on my street at that time, and it was so cool to go skating when the sun was just coming up and the birds started singing.

[electron_blue]

29. LOL yes, in 6th grade

If you count that as elementary. We were on split sessions that started at 6:30am (or was it 7?), so I had to get up at 5. I still remember that clock, it was an ancient beast. The next year when I was on afternoon sessions (starting at 12:30pm) I never bothered with the alarm clock again til high school.