Southington Family Finalist In National Invention Competition

SOUTHINGTON, CT — A Southington family needs votes in a national invention contest.

Jill and Joe White and their children, Audrey, 8; and Mia, 6; entered their invention, the "Kid Safe Switch," into the Frito-Lay Dreamvention Contest and are now one of five finalists competing for $250,000.

The Whites' submission was picked out of the thousands submitted from all over the country. Now the Whites need people to vote for them every day until Jan. 6. Every time a vote is cast, that person is entered in a sweepstakes to win $1,000.

Jill White said the family entered the contest after finding an advertisement for it on a Frito Lay Variety Pack bag. She said it was a "light bulb moment," about a "common problem" in the house.

"It was mommy yelling to get away from the oven and the stove," she said. "That was yelled a lot in our house."

One instance stood out — a day when the kids were making omelets with daddy, she said with a laugh.

The Whites then came up with the Kid Safe Switch. Audrey drew a picture of it and they submitted it.

The Kid Safe Switch is a sensor that can be placed on the oven. It detects body heat, otherwise known as infrared energy, and could detect when someone below the height of the oven top approaches the oven when the stove is on. There is an on/off switch so it can be deactivated when there is no cooking going on.

When the switch is on, the sensor will create a protective grid around a hot stove.

Jill White, said the premise is, when a child approaches the oven, the device flashes a light and a loud alarm sounds. Not only will this deter children from going near the oven but it alerts the parent to the potential disaster, she said.

Frito Lay made a prototype of it and the family was flown to Hollywood. When there, the Whites went to a contest boot camp, took part in a photo shoot and interviewed with
actress Cobie Smulders of the show, "How I Met Your Mother."

Jilly White said the family is now hoping for the community's support for the Kid Safe Switch.

People can vote for the Whites daily on www.mydreamvention.com.

Photo Credit: Frito-Lay, White Family

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