A Mystery Solved

 This is my new rice cooker.

I've had it for a few months now. 

Where the yellow sticker is, that's the control panel. It's a touchscreen and is very sensitive.

Before I go to bed, I wash some rice, put it in the rice cooker, and set the timer so it's ready for me to make obento in the morning.

Some mornings, however, the rice isn't cooked, or the timer is wrong. I've gone over the manual a few times, with one of the kids helping me; my Japanese reading skills aren't that good. It looks like I'm doing everything right, so why am I having problems?

Last night at about 2 a.m., I heard a crash from the kitchen/dining area. I went to investigate and found that Christopher had tripped over the broom!

I asked Christopher what had woken him up. His bedroom is off the dining/kitchen area. He said that he could hear something beeping; he thought it was either the fridge that hadn't been closed properly or somebody's alarm clock.

When he looked round, he saw Alan on the counter, grooming himself and leaning against the rice cooker; every time he moved, he hit the control panel, changing the settings! The beeping noise was the setting being changed.

So now I know why the rice cooker settings are being changed; I just don't know what to do about it. I don't have anywhere else to put the rice cooker.

Alan