Warning: Off-topic but related and funny
My son was having problems coming out of sleep:
Lazy Teen vs Overly Ambitions Father
Was reminded recently of something I did several years ago when my eldest son was age 15. He just could not get up in the morning for school. Alarm clocks did not work. Even if he didn't merely turn the alarm off before morning, and it sounded, beeps just weren't loud enough. We tried a few clocks, but he still would oversleep. His mom and I were desperate for a solution that would get him up.
So I rigged up an old school bell / fire alarm bell from the local flea market to a simple lamp timer. (Remember when schools had those bells?). After dialing in the time to wake up, I placed the setup in the attic right above his bed. Didn't tell him about it beforehand. This worked perfectly. Woke up schoolmates in the neighborhood too. Some positive peer pressure ensued. Only needed it for two nights. After that, a simple clock radio with a beep-beep-beep was sufficient. The rig remained on a garage shelf as a reminder, should habits revert, or his kids have the same challenge someday.
Brings lots of laughs now. This might be a handy tip for someone out there.
