Children Sleep Right Through Fire Alarms, Study Shows.

[Steely Dan]

Children Sleep Right Through Fire Alarms, Study Shows
By Bonnie Rochman Friday, March 25, 2011

Recently, the super-sensitive smoke alarm near our kitchen started squalling in response to a charred bit of something overcooking in a saucepan. I cringed because my 6-year-old was asleep. A champion snoozer, she never flinched. And now, new research scarily shows she's no exception.

Being a deep sleeper is really good in terms of her getting uninterrupted z's, but it would have been really bad had the smoke alarm heralded true danger. It's not the first time I've wondered whether smoke alarms even do any good when it comes to rousing children. Now an Australian study's got my answer, and it's a definitive no....

Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2011/03/25/children-sleep-through-fire-alarms-study-shows/#ixzz1HdnetLzU

IIRC, The show American Inventor addressed this. One of the inventions was a smoke alarm that was recordable. I think the guy said that studies showed kids responded to their mothers voice better and so he invented a recordable smoke detector that mothers could use to record a wake up message. I know he didn't win the competition but it may have been picked up and put on the market, I don't know.

 

[Steely Dan]

I don't know if this is it but there is a recordable smoke alarm available; http://www.redi-exit.com/talking-smoke-alarms.html

KidSmart® Talking Smoke Alarm
Why Talking Smoke Alarms?

* Must unimpaired adults awaken quickly and reliably to the beeping of hallway smoke alarms
* Studies have found that Children, the elderly, people under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or who are sleep deprived, have difficulty awakening to the beeping of hallway smoke alarms
* These studies have shown that only 46% of children aged 6 to 15 woke reliably to traditional smoke alarm signal
* Studies have shown that a smoke alarm, that used a recorded familiar voice like a mother's or father's urging these children to get up, woke 100% of the children in one minute or less.
* Studies also found an additional benefit to a familiar voice alarm, these alarms helped children stay calmer in a traumatic situation

 

[peeples]

We have 3 of those in our home, they alternate my voice and my husbands and progressively get louder and more demanding.

 

[Steely Dan]

We have 3 of those in our home, they alternate my voice and my husbands and progressively get louder and more demanding.

Just curious have you tested them?

 

[peeples]

No we haven't. We think about it every once in a while.. but I don't want to desensitize them....
I'd hate for the real thing to happen and they thought it was a test and that caused them to not move as quick..
Obviously they drill them at school and it doesn't seem to desensitize them.. but i guess i feel differently at home..
we live in tornado country and when they were littler and the sirens went off they would fly for the basement.. now they kinda lag and say do we HAVE TO go down there the tornadoes have never hit us.. LOL

 

[belimom]

No we haven't. We think about it every once in a while.. but I don't want to desensitize them....
I'd hate for the real thing to happen and they thought it was a test and that caused them to not move as quick..
Obviously they drill them at school and it doesn't seem to desensitize them.. but i guess i feel differently at home..
we live in tornado country and when they were littler and the sirens went off they would fly for the basement.. now they kinda lag and say do we HAVE TO go down there the tornadoes have never hit us.. LOL

bbm

OT: And tell them that's why they're around to complain...

 

[peeples]

LOL!! Oh I have trust me.. but their favorite show, storm chasers holds more power over them than me on that subject. UGHHH