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Southington Family's Safety Invention Wins National Contest

The Kid’s Safe Switch, developed by a Southington family, is the winner of the Frito-Lay Dreamvention contest

A Southington family created a new way to keep kids safe, and their device was chosen as the winner of a national competition.

The White family came up with the kid-safe switch, a device that sounds an alarm when a child gets too close to a hot stove. But mom Jill said she would have never imagined what happened next.

“We did it almost as an art project, but never did I have the confidence to believe in our creative thinking, and the ideas could turn into something,” she said.

They entered the safe switch into the Frito Lay Dreamvention Contest, a national competition, and it was chosen as one of five finalists. Last weekend, they flew out to Dallas with the other finalists for an awards brunch.

“We were also thinking everybody in this room wants this so bad," White said.

White says that after 2 million votes nationwide, they announced that her family won. The prize - $250,000.

“I think I’m still coming out of the shock,” White said. “I don’t even know if people could see my reaction because I burst into tears.”

After taking a celebratory trip to Disney, the family plans to invest some of the money into the idea that started it all - the safe switch.

“I would like to see it happen,” White said. “I would like to see it help people someday.”

It’s a device they hope may one day save lives.

“Dreams always felt like dreams, and now they feel attainable,” said White.

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