If there’s one shared experience all new parents go through, it would be the sleepless nights that come with raising young kids. As it turns out, even the richest parents cannot escape this fate. Just ask the CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, who recently shared on his Facebook and Instagram accounts (where else?) that his wife, Priscilla Chan, has been having a hard time sleeping through the night.
Chan’s story is something all moms will be able to relate to. According to Zuckerberg, she would wake up and check the time on her phone to see if their daughters, Maxima, 3, and August, 1, would be waking up soon. “But then knowing the time stresses her out and she can’t fall back asleep,” Zuckerberg writes.So, what’s a tech genius to do when their partner is having a difficult time? Invent something useful, of course!
What other parents are reading
In his post, Zuckerberg shares an invention he calls the “Sleep Box,” a raised wooden box that works like a light alarm clock, which allows his wife to guess the time without fully waking up from a deep sleep. It’s positioned on Chan’s nightstand and emits a faint light between 6 and 7 a.m. which signals her that it would be a good time for her or Zuckerberg to get out of bed and check on the kids. If she chooses to go back to sleep, she can, because the light is dim enough that it would not disturb her. On the other hand, if she wakes up in the middle of the night and the light isn’t on, she’d know that it’s too early and she can go back to sleep.
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOWIt’s definitely a better alternative than having to check your phone and thankfully, Zuckerberg’s invention paid off. “So far this has worked better than I expected and she [Chan] can now sleep through the night,” he writes.
Zuckerberg’s reason for revealing the invention is equally endearing. He writes, “Being a mom is hard, and since we’ve had kids Priscilla has had a hard time sleeping through the night… As an engineer, building a device to help my partner sleep better is one of the best ways I can think of to express my love and gratitude.”What other parents are reading
CONTINUE READING BELOWwatch nowHe adds that he’s made the Sleep Box public because “a bunch of my friends have told me that they’d want something like this, so I’m putting this out there in case another entrepreneur wants to run with this and build sleep boxes for more people!”
The Facebook co-founder is definitely in the running for “Best Husband” award with this innovation, but you know who moms would think is the real winner? A husband who would let them sleep in and say, “Don’t get up. I’ve got this.” After all, a recent study found that moms are more sleep deprived — they lose three times more sleep than dads during the baby’s first year — so a father taking charge while mom rests is the best gift any mom can receive, especially on Mother’s Day.
Zuckerberg did say the Sleep Box would signal Chan when it would be an “okay time for one of us to get the kids,” so it’s fair to say that’s he’s also sharing the parenting burden. So, yes, while a glowing box is nice, having a partner who supports and helps out is even better. Take note, husbands!
What other parents are reading
.jpg)
