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When It Comes To Batteries, Parents And Kids Hate Surprises

Posted: 7/21/2010

Ninety-seven percent of survey respondents said their child has battery-powered toys.

(NAPSI) - As parents continue to depend heavily on batteries to power not only their gadgets but also their children's toys, the need arises for more information about rechargeable batteries and the recharging process. Parents who've experienced their children's favorite toys losing power learned firsthand the importance of being prepared, to keep those important devices running in the future.

Keeping electronic toys running is particularly important for many busy parents. Battery-operated games are often the key to entertaining children on long road trips, short errands and to support the babysitter back at home, so a drained battery can mean a very unhappy child.

In fact, according to a survey of 1,059 parents, conducted in April by Impulse Research Corp., 60 percent of parents have had to cope with an upset child because a battery-powered toy or electronic device would not operate because of dead batteries.

Kids aren't the only ones who get frustrated when a gadget isn't charged or batteries unexpectedly run out of juice. If you have missed a photo opportunity for this reason, you aren't alone. In a recent Consumer Reports survey of 13,571 of its subscribers, 38 percent couldn't take a photo at one time or another because their camera batteries weren't charged.

To add insult to injury, 52 percent of parents, according to the Impulse Research survey, say they have been exasperated when they have attempted to replace batteries and found that the replacement or spare batteries are drained. The survey also revealed more about what consumers are looking for from rechargeable batteries and chargers: Seventy-four percent of parents surveyed said they would like a "fuel gauge" on a battery charger that indicates the current level of power in the rechargeable batteries, while 68 percent want a charger that indicates how much charging time remains.

The good news is that companies like Energizer are responding to consumer needs and have developed chargers and batteries that are superior to ones created as recently as 2009. Energizer's new rechargeable NiMH AA batteries can now be charged up to 600 times and retain about the same amount of power at 12 months than previous Energizer 2450mAh rechargeable batteries retained at six months. That means charging less often and powered devices when you need them most, for more play and picture-taking time than ever before.

The company's new Energizer Recharge Smart Charger also represents a new era in NiMH battery charging. This charger clearly displays a countdown clock to let consumers know how long until the batteries are fully charged, and a battery fuel gauge that shows the level of power in the battery. It also features a bad battery alert that will let you know if you have inserted a non-rechargeable battery or a rechargeable battery that is beyond its useful life.

With 69 percent of parents in the survey saying they feel they are always replacing or recharging batteries, and 56 percent saying they've run out of battery power at the most inopportune moment, there are likely to be a lot of people who will be pleasantly surprised by the recent innovations in rechargeable batteries and battery chargers. For more information, visit www.energizer.com/smartcharge.

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