Hi everyone. I’m very new to home automation, but I do have a homelab with a Pi 4 running Home Assistant OS…just not very many smart devices or any real automations yet. I also have an elementary school aged son with ADHD who cannot seem to keep his pee inside the toilet. I had the idea of maybe trying some type of automation in the kids’ bathroom that would detect a kid coming into the bathroom, turn on the lights (white or red) if at night, and send reminders to an alexa device or HA speaker in the bathroom to sit down or aim properly, flush the toilet, etc. I’m just curious if anyone has explored solutions for this problem or has any good ideas to consider. My initial thought is to replace the light switch with a smart switch, replace the vanity light bulbs (there are 6) with dimmable and color changing zigbee bulbs, and put a mmwave radar sensor near the toilet to detect presence. Sound plan, or are there better ideas?
Thanks in advance!
Electronics isn’t an answer to every problem…
A lot of things would be imaginable, but you’re also touching quite hard pedagogic-, social- and legal questions here.
I added matter bulbs.
3 switches in bathroom(fan,shower, vanity) so bulb was cheaper/easier/maybe both
Get HA voice PE for announcement or similar esp32 voice device.
Add mmw sensor to esp
Just automate on/off of light and announce from speaker as needed. Add a little framed reminder message above toilet as well.
Just some food for thoughts:
- what would happen if one of your kid’s mates is over and needs to use the bath room?
don’t you think that might detrimentally affect his standing (and their parents)? - what happens if your kid is over at some friend’s house, where there are no such gizmos?
- what happens at school?
To add some clearly not-legal advice, what about rfid implants, an rfid reader in the door frame, rain- and humidity sensors, ai based image processing in the cloud and a remote controlled electro-shocker collar from the pet/ dog store?
See the potential problem?
From a purely technical point of view this is ‘possible’, I’m not a lawyer nor a psychologist, but I think…
Auto Turn on light and announce “watch where you tinkle”
I doubt it will work but hardly illegal or
Intrusive. Maybe it gets annoying depending on age
Or it might even have the oppisite effect? If someone tries to micromanage you, you might get a bit angry
With that said, I have two similar things in cooperation with my child. One is a button we press when food is ready. A lamp in the child’s room will blink in a pattern they have decided. That way there i sno yelling and angry voices. They end what they are doing and come to dinner.
The other thing is a routine to help getting off the computer at night. Lamp lights for a while, then blinks a countdown om 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 minute and then the computer turns off. The child has design this routine and we have discussed at what time (before weekday and before weekend) and I think that is why it works so good. No arguments, just a friendly help with what is hard for them or otherwise causes arguments.
Get a Voice PE and use it to announce things / turn its ring light on red at night. Great devices!
A teacher friend came up with a simple solution to this problem. Paint a target on a ping pong ball and let it float in the toilet. The urge to hit it is irresistible.
Thanks for the constructive feedback!
He has special needs and is excited for tech to help him remember at night, and I am a lawyer and mom is a pediatrician, so we have those concerns covered…but thank your for your insights.
It’s all fun & games until you end up having to fish out a brown ping pong ball after a little while 
Some public toilets have painted a fly in the enamel for exactly that purpose.
Looked up “toilet target” on Amazon. Treasure trove. I’m now thinking of doing this at my house.
Really like the LED target light that mount on toilet top and shine into toilet bowl. I think they are a bit bulky and may impede other toilet uses (poke in back when sitting I feel).
Sticker I feel will wear away with cleaning. But they are cheap and replaceable.
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