Inchargebox: Surrey Hills’ mum Kate Curry’s tech storage box a hit
If your kids refuse to put down their iPads or phones, a Surrey Hills mum has come up with a genius solution, with her invention growing in popularity during lockdown. Here’s how it works and you can get your children’s hands on one.
East
Don't miss out on the headlines from East . Followed categories will be added to My News.
After an addiction to late-night gaming caused a friend’s son to drop out of school, Surrey Hills’ mum Kate Curry came up with an idea.
She wanted to create a product where parents could lock up their children’s technology – including phones, iPads and gaming consoles – to give them a break from screens, especially in the bedroom.
The inchargebox was born, a steel lockable tech charging station, with six or 12 USB ports.
“Each device gets plugged into its own USB port inside the box and parents get the key,” Ms Curry said.
“You put the tech in there and lock it up until you want to get it out.”
Ms Curry has seen an increase in demand for the inchargebox during lockdown, with more people at home and spending time on screens.
“Every time before I’ve had a shipment come in, it has sold it before it landed,” she said.
“There has been massive growth this year.
“I think because of lockdown, people are having to spend so much more time at home, and their kids having to learn online all day … so I think a lot of parents have been thinking ‘They’re on (technology) all day, I can’t have them then doing it all night as well.”
Ms Curry said although technology did allow children to connect with friends, especially in lockdown, there had to be limits.
She said the recent Netflix film The Social Dilemma had also shown the huge impact social media has on teens’ mental health, especially girls in Year 8 and 9.
“An increase in screen time does have an impact on the brain; it affects your mood,” Ms Curry said.
“I think a lot of people have used (the inchargebox) for night-times to keep tech out of the bedrooms, which is the main reason why I built it.”
She came up with the idea in 2016 after speaking to her friend, whose son had become addicted to playing World of Warcraft in his room.
“He was a straight-A student, but dropped out of school because he was gaming in his bedroom late at night with people in America, so he had to stay up late,” Ms Curry said.
“She just said to me: ‘Never let your kids have tech in the bedroom’.”
“That planted the seed (for my business)”.
Ms Curry said as her own children grew older and got iPads, she was always hiding the devices in the cupboard to encourage them to spend time doing other things.
“I was sick of hiding them in the cupboard, and I wanted something that could be locked and that allowed the devices to be charged,” she said.
Ms Curry said a lot of parents who bought the box reported that their children were getting more sleep, because they were no longer waking up early to play on their devices.
The six USB inchargebox sells for $179, and the 12 USB model for $199.
Ms Curry won bronze in the Product Innovation Award category for the inchargebox at this year’s AusMumpreneur Awards.
MORE NEWS: MUM’S ALCOHOLIC SORBET POPS A HIT