Mum has £11 trick so she never has to shout at her children again
A mum has been hailed a 'genius' after installing doorbells directly into her kids' bedrooms- so she never has to shout her children down for dinner again. Shelley Walker was sick of shouting up the stairs to her three boys Toby, nine, Jackson, seven, and Charlie, five, that tea was on the table and being constantly ignored. Deciding to take matters into her own hands, the 43-year-old bought three doorbells from Amazon for GBP11 each and fitted one in each of her kids' rooms.
Now, whenever she just presses the doorbell in the kitchen cupboard that coincides with their bedroom receiver, the mum-of-three says they race downstairs. The mortgage broker says after installing the device, she no longer has to shout in her house and says her kids get 'excited' when she uses the doorbells. After sharing her hack online, most praised the innovation and thought it a great idea - though some questioned why she couldn't just go upstairs.
Shelley, from Hockley in Essex, said: "I was sick of shouting upstairs and being ignored then running up to get the kids down for dinner. Over Christmas[1] I noticed that I was shouting up to the kids and they didn't come downstairs and then when I really shouted, they would come downstairs and just shout back. "I thought this wasn't good and there must be a better way and this is when I found the doorbells online.
I just thought up the idea myself and thought it would be a better way [to get their attention]. I popped the button onto [my kitchen cupboard] and now they [my children] come down much happier and excited that I've rung their doorbell.
A mum has been hailed a 'genius' after installing DOORBELLS directly into her kids' BEDROOMS - so she never has to shout her children down for dinner again"They are really easy to use and they don't interfere with each other so I can call each child independently. When I do, they now just run downstairs and are like 'what do you need mummy?'.
"The combination of a flashing light and 'ding-dong' in their bedroom gets them downstairs very quickly." Since installing the doorbells in her home, Shelley said her house has been filled with less anger and would highly recommend this nifty trick to other parents. And when she shared a video of the system on TikTok, her post racked up over 1.2 million views and 6,000 likes and users praised the clever mum hack.
Shelley said: "Since installing them [the doorbells] there is definitely less nagging and shouting in the house. I now just press the bell and then clap and cheer when they come down rather than shouting at them and them being angry and shouting back. "It is now a happy ding-dong.
I would 100 percent recommend it to other parents. As a parent I feel that I don't have to shout anymore. People said I should just go upstairs, but there are only so many times I can walk up and down the stairs a day.
"A lot of people are saying they want to install them in their house now." One person said: "Wow, best idea ever...running to the store now!" Another added: "You my dear, are a bloody genius.
I am doing this today. "So sick of shouting teenagers down for their dinner." A third commented: "I've done this too.
Works brilliantly... as long as they don't unplug their end lol." However not everyone agreed. One user joked: "Just turn off the WiFi it works quicker."
Another quipped: "Or just go upstairs and tell them?"
A third added: "How big is the house though?
Makes no sense in a 2-3 bed house."