A $10 Bunnings Wireless Doorbell Becomes a Parenting Hack for Distracted Teenagers

A battery-powered wireless doorbell sold at Australian hardware chain Bunnings has become an unlikely parenting tool after a podcaster said the device stopped her from having to shout to reach a headphone-clad teenager.

Lise Carlaw, co-host of the Lise and Sarah Podcast and co-founder of the Disco Club events brand, told listeners in a recent podcast segment that she purchased the Arlec Premium 38 Sound Battery Powered Wireless Door Chime for A$9.99 and installed the push-button outside her teenage son’s bedroom, with the chime unit placed in the kitchen. "Calling out to him all the time was starting to grate on my last nerve. I'm sick of the sound of myself," she said on the show, explaining that her son often wears a large headset or AirPods and does not hear her calls.

Carlaw described the effect as immediate: when her son hears the chime, he typically leaves his room and walks to the kitchen to see what is needed. The device she identified in a follow-up to Daily Mail Australia is offered with 38 selectable tones, a 75 metre wireless range and requires no wiring, the online product description states.

A short clip from the podcast, posted to the program’s @liseandsarah_ TikTok account and captioned "Lise. Wins. Parenting," has been viewed tens of thousands of times and prompted hundreds of reactions. Social media commenters described the idea as "genius" and several parents said they already use similar wireless chimes in children's bedrooms or bathrooms to avoid raising their voices.

The Arlec unit consists of two parts: a battery-powered push button and a freestanding chime unit that plugs into a household power source or sits on a surface. The product's packaging and online listings emphasize simple installation without the need for home wiring and the ability to place the chime anywhere within its wireless range.

Responses to the clip also highlighted alternative, technology-based approaches some households use for the same problem. One parent said the family uses Google Home Mini smart speakers to broadcast messages through the house, while another described linking a Spotify account to a teen’s gaming console and using custom track titles as prompts.

The popularity of Carlaw’s post reflects growing interest in inexpensive, off-the-shelf consumer devices repurposed to manage daily household communication. Simple wireless chimes offer a low-tech, low-cost option compared with more complex smart-home systems and have been adopted by some families who want a nonverbal, attention-getting signal that does not rely on direct voice contact.

Retail listings for the Arlec model note the unit’s selectable tones include traditional chimes such as "Ding Dong" and "Westminster," and that the system operates on batteries for the push button and either batteries or mains power for the receiver, depending on the model. Bunnings lists the product at A$9.99 and describes it as suitable for use in homes where a short-range wireless alert is required.

Carlaw and her podcast co-host Sarah Wills also run a dance-party events business, and the segment framed the doorbell purchase as a practical household workaround rather than a technological endorsement. Viewers and listeners who responded to the podcast offered a mix of anecdotes and adaptations, from multiple chimes placed in different rooms to integrating lights with chimes for those wearing headphones.

As inexpensive wireless devices continue to proliferate in retail outlets, consumers are applying them in a variety of everyday contexts. In households with teenagers who use headsets, the repurposing of a $10 doorbell provided one parent a way to reduce vocal strain while maintaining a direct line of attention when needed.