It works, and my (11yo) daughter loves it! She even tried the snooze feature, and it worked perfectly too. The shake isn’t scary at all, it's just a gentle vibration that wakes her reliably. Even on a queen bed, when the shaker isn’t directly under her pillow, she still wakes up without any trouble. This is a total game changer for us! At 11 years old, she’s now independent in the mornings. I don’t have to be home to wake her, and she’s already up and having breakfast by the time I get back from the gym. We couldn’t be happier!