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Family

The new 'smart diaper' detects when babies are wet, but parents aren't sure if we really need it

Has technology gone too far?

smart diapers, penn state universiety, moisture sensor
via Pexels

A mother puts a fresh diaper on her baby.

Scientists at Penn State University have devised a “smart diaper” that alerts parents when their baby is wet. The diaper is made of paper, treated with sodium chloride (salt) and has a circuit board drawn with a pencil.

When the humidity level rises in the diaper, the graphite and the urine are absorbed by the paper and it turns on a sensor powered by a small lithium battery. The sensor then sets the alarm on an app that parents download onto their phones.

“The hydration sensor is highly sensitive to changes in humidity and provides accurate readings over a wide range of relative humidity levels, from 5.6% to 90%,” the researchers at Penn State said in a statement.

The new invention is perfect for parents who want to know the exact moment that their child has gone to the bathroom. But it raises some questions. Don't babies already alert us when they're wet? Does everything we do in 2023 have to be connected to an app?

The new development caused a stir on Twitter, where most people think the natural way the babies let us know if they are wet works well enough.

Some even suggested that if you need a phone alert to find out if your baby is wet, you may not be fit to be a parent.

There were also some who raised concerns over the diaper’s safety.

A lot of people wondered if this would lead to irresponsible parenting.


Life with a baby is stressful enough.

Not everyone thinks that the smart diaper is a bad idea.

Although many people are unsure whether we need a massive technological advancement in baby wetness detection, that’s not the only goal of Penn State’s project. The graphite technology has a lot of other uses outside of the crib.

“Our team has been focused on developing devices that can capture vital information for human health,” Huanyu “Larry” Cheng, Associate Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics at Penn State, said in a statement. “The goal is early prediction for disease conditions and health situations, to spot problems before it is too late.”

Cheng and his fellow engineers hope that their ingenious detection technology will be used to monitor multiple health issues. Their new technology can be placed in a face mask to create a respiration monitor that can distinguish mouth breathing from nose breathing while classifying three breathing states: deep, regular and rapid.

smart diaper, penn state university, moisture monitor

The innner workinds of the "smart diaper"

via Huanyu “Larry” Cheng/Penn State

The data collected from the respiratory monitor can detect various health conditions such as cardiac events, pneumonia and clinical deterioration.

The moisture sensing technology can also help alert healthcare workers to changes in a patient’s condition, whether they are being treated in a hospital setting or being monitored via telemedicine.

“Different types of disease conditions result in different rates of water loss on our skin,” Cheng said. “The skin will function differently based on those underlying conditions, which we will be able to flag and possibly characterize using the sensor.”

The smart diaper may get headlines and cause a snicker or two. But no one should laugh at its unique underlying technology that can detect tiny changes in one's health that are a lot more important than whether someone just used the restroom.

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What will you create on your social media break? Share it at #MyVisionMySight.

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Take this couple in North Carolina, for example, who gave up living on land to move into a floating cabin and apparently saved $27,500 annually by doing so.

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New study shows spanking hurts kids' mental health and is less effective at teaching lessons

Why is it wrong to hit an adult or an animal but OK to spank a child?

Photo by Kat J on Unsplash

Yet another study shows that spanking isn't good for kids.

Whether to spank your child or not is one of the oldest debates among parents. Many live by the age-old wisdom that to “spare the rod” is to “spoil the child,” while others believe it’s wrong to resort to violence to punish a child when so many alternatives exist.

It also begs the question: If it's wrong to hit your spouse or pet, why is it acceptable to hit a defenseless child?

The 2021 American Family Study found that support for spanking has declined in the U.S. over the past few years. In 2015, 54% either somewhat or strongly agreed with the practice, but that number dropped to 47% in 2021. Thirty-five percent of respondents disagree with the practice and 18% neither agree nor disagree.

A new research study from the Parent and Family Research Alliance in Australia led by Professor Sophie Havighurst and Professor Daryl Higgins from Australian Catholic University makes a strong case that people should stop using corporal punishment to discipline their kids. The study “Corporal punishment of children in Australia: The evidence-based case for legislative reform” analyzed countless studies on the topic and found spanking ineffective and harmful.

The study was published to urge lawmakers to make corporal punishment in Australia illegal. Sixty-five states across the world have made corporal punishment illegal, protecting 14% of the world’s children.

The study defined corporal punishment of children as using physical force to cause pain, but not injury, to correct or control a child’s behavior.

The most startling meta-analysis published in the study found that "only 1 out of 111 statistically significant effect sizes was associated with a link between 'spanking' and a positive child outcome," while 110 were found to be associated with adverse outcomes.

The one positive outcome was in a 1972 study of children of the U.S. military living in West Germany that found those spanked showed less amphetamine and opiate use as adults.

However, the remaining 110 significant results found that spanking had adverse effects, including: “reducing trust and connection with those they are closest to, lower self-esteem, more internalizing and externalizing behavior problems including aggression, mental health difficulties, and increased risk for later substance abuse, antisocial behavior, and violence.”

A meta-analysis found that when children are spanked, they are less likely to internalize the moral implications of the behaviors that led them to be disciplined. It also found that non-physical discipline was more effective at teaching “alternative behaviors,” “developing a child’s conscience,” and advancing their “emotional development.”

Another meta-analysis cited in the story found that corporal punishment in childhood was associated with mental health problems, low self-esteem and antisocial behavior.

In the end, the studies show that corporal punishment is counter-productive when it comes to raising healthy, happy children. But it will take much more than a study to get people to reconsider their views of corporal punishment because they are deeply rooted in many cultural traditions.

Looking for some non-physical alternatives to discipline your child? Here’s a great place to start from WebMD.

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