When KidSmart says that children are more likely to wake up to the familiar sound of a parent’s voice than to the impersonal bleeping of a standard fire alarm, we suppose we have to take them at their word. After all, the KidSmart Vocal Smoke Detector did win a 2006 Industrial Design Excellence Award, and it meets UL standards. It is pretty cool that parents can record a custom emergency message on each detector, with specific instructions for that kid. And it's nice to be able to aim the detector’s speaker directly at their tot's sleeping ears. (With two units in this bundle, that only leaves about half a child uncovered in the average American household.)

Anything in the name of safety, right? Let it never be said that Woot, Inc. is in favor of endangering children. We're sure adding this to your existing array of fire alarms is a fine idea.

But, well, we use our own voices to try to wake our kids every single day, and let’s just say the results are decidedly mixed. So let us suggest that your emergency instructions might carry more impact in somebody else’s voice. Can you do a really good SpongeBob SquarePants impression? Do the Cheetah Girls owe you a favor, perchance? Instead of narcotizing your bambino into burrowing under the blankets, let Batman or Pikachu rouse the little nipper. Or record one Sprouse twin in each unit and let the two detectors do a little shtick together. Come to think of it, maybe we’ll try using this every morning, fire or not.

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