Nice to see gadgets being used to delegate teaching our kids stuff, including telling the time. Guess robot nannys aren’t really too far-fetched to consider, eh? Hammacher’s Talking Teaching Alarm Clock is another device that picked up the Product of the Year Award from Creative Child Magazine, where it will whip your little ones into shape verbally where telling the current time is concerned.

The clock displays a random analog time on a high-contrast LCD and asks, “What time is it?” in a clear female voice. Children can check their answers by pressing a button that prompts the clock to speak the correct time and display the digital equivalent. The clock is preprogrammed with five levels of difficulty, beginning with only round hours (three o’clock) and progressing to more difficult-to-learn times. Times can also be entered manually, allowing you to customize lessons. You can set the clock face to turn green at a specific time in the morning, signaling to a child that it is okay to get out of bed. The clock has a working alarm, 10-minute snooze function, and a night-light.

You can opt for it to be powered by either AC or a couple of AAA batteries. It retails for $49.95 a pop, and is a great way to introduce your kids to the wonderful world of the snooze alarm concept – something they might regret in the future as they snooze past their working time.