If you’re expecting a new parent, investing in a baby monitor is wise. These devices allow for peace of mind while you sleep by monitoring your little one’s whereabouts.
You have your choice of audio-only, video, or both. Many providers also include extra features like white noise or lullabies for added comfort.
Features
As a new parent, you’ll want to ensure your baby’s safety at all times. A baby monitor is one of the best ways to do this; these devices keep you informed on your child’s whereabouts and allow for monitoring while you’re away from home, and you’ll like want one with split screen features if you have a bigger house.
The best baby monitors offer a wealth of features, from audio and video to night vision. Furthermore, they come equipped with useful extras like temperature monitoring or specialized features that can help monitor your infant’s health and sleep patterns.
Most video monitors connect to your smartphone, providing you with a visual of what’s going on in your child’s room. This makes it easier to spot any fears or apprehensions your baby may have about sleeping in their crib.
Some cameras even enable you to view your baby’s sleep patterns in real-time, allowing you to monitor how long it takes them to fall asleep and whether they’re getting enough rest. This data can help determine if there are changes necessary in their nap schedule, bedtime, or feeding routine.
Another useful feature beyond the normal split screen stuff to check for is sleep summaries, which outline when your baby woke up, how long they slept, and the quality of their rest. This data can help identify if there’s an environmental issue affecting their slumber patterns.
If your house is large or has multiple floors, a long-range monitor like Bonoch’s may be ideal. This model boasts an advanced FHSS (frequency-hopping spread spectrum) wireless signal that penetrates walls without losing signal strength.
These wireless monitors have the added advantage of being more secure than traditional analog models, which may be vulnerable to hacking. You’ll need to set up a password and regularly update your monitor’s firmware for maximum protection.
A reliable baby monitor should be able to detect changes in your child’s breathing pattern, which may help detect signs of illness. However, it’s essential that these smart monitors not replace certified medical devices used under the supervision of your physician.
Video Monitors
Video monitor options offer parents a range of features. Some come with multiple cameras so you can watch your baby from any room in the house; others provide temperature and humidity monitoring, sound control, light sensors, two-way talkback capabilities, and sleep tracking – ideal if you want to know when your child wakes up during the night or has been asleep for an extended period.
Video monitors come in a range of price points and some have higher refresh rates than others. Refresh rates help reduce lag in videos, creating smoother and more realistic visuals. On the contrary, if budgeting is your goal, consider getting a low-end model with a lower refresh rate.
Some video monitors come equipped with night vision, which can be handy when checking on your baby while they sleep in the dark. Plus, many have white noise or lullabies to help soothe them to sleep.
A video monitor’s range can make or break its ability to watch your child, so make sure you select one with a strong signal that reaches beyond your home walls. Non-Wi-Fi models typically don’t offer such wide coverage, so you may want to look for a monitor that offers both Wi-Fi connectivity and an RF signal.
Another feature you might want to take into account after you’ve settled on split screen or not is remote pan and tilt, which lets you move the camera around a room and see exactly what your baby is looking at. Some video monitors allow this from their touchscreen display while others use remote controls that can be picked up anywhere in the house.
You may opt for a model with a wide viewing angle, which is ideal for monitoring your baby from across the room. A wider angle may be especially helpful if your nursery is small or you have multiple kids of similar ages living together.
Battery life is another critical factor, especially if you need to keep the video feed up all night. Generally, parent units with dedicated batteries last up to 18 hours, depending on sensitivity settings and quality settings.
Indoor Security Cameras
If you need a way to monitor your baby while away, security cameras are an ideal choice. Many models come with helpful features that make them simpler and more convenient than regular video monitors.
Motion Detection: A quality indoor camera should automatically start recording when it detects movement. This saves you time and hassle by enabling you to check on your baby without having to set it up manually each time. Furthermore, some models come with customizable zones so that you can select which areas receive alerts.
Night Vision: Security cameras equipped with high resolution will produce clear images even in low light conditions, enabling you to observe your baby’s room clearly at night.
Two-way Audio: Most cameras offer this feature, allowing you to speak with family members or other people in the room while you’re absent. This can be especially handy when away on work or vacation as it gives peace of mind knowing you won’t miss any important interactions with those closest to you.
Battery Power: Some cameras offer battery operation, which allows for greater flexibility when placing them outdoors. Unfortunately, maintaining this can be a hassle as you must replace or recharge batteries frequently.
Wireless Connectivity: Most modern security cameras require Wi-Fi connectivity, so you’ll need a router with Wi-Fi capabilities. Some cameras can connect to 2.4 GHz networks while others require 5 GHz networks – this can be an issue when trying to connect multiple cameras in your home or dealing with interference from other devices.
Smart Perceive Technology: When your camera detects motion or sound in your home, it will send instant notifications to your smartphone app. These alerts keep you informed of what’s taking place so that you can act quickly if anything suspicious arises.
These cameras can serve as traditional baby monitors or non-Wi-Fi versions with other useful features like night vision, two way communication and a room temperature indicator. Some even come with microSD cards that let you record videos onto your phone when not connected to the Internet or when away from home.
Multiple Cameras
Multi-camera baby monitors give you the freedom to monitor your children in different rooms of the house, which is especially helpful for parents with twins or multiple children of varying ages.
A quality video baby monitor should have features such as pan, tilt, and zoom that allow you to see the entire room without having to physically enter it to check on your child.
These features allow you to monitor if your baby is awake or moving around. Some of these devices also come equipped with a smart zone, which enables the app to send notifications when your infant leaves an established safe area.
Some video monitors offer split-screen mode, enabling you to view multiple cameras at once. You can do this manually or use an auto-scan feature that switches between views every few seconds.
Utilizing a multiple-camera system is straightforward, though you might need to know some tricks to get it to work properly. First and foremost, pair the cameras with your monitor.
Once you have done this, the monitor should display a list of available cameras with numbers from 1 to 4. Press and hold the camera you wish to connect to your monitor until you hear a beep or see its new video stream appear.
By doing this, you will unlock a feature called patrol mode which automatically scans each camera and searches for audio. For busy moms on the go, this feature can be life-saving as it eliminates having to constantly switch between cameras to hear what is going on.
If you require more than one camera, many of the best baby monitors for multiple rooms allow up to four additional inputs. All it takes is plugging them in and turning on your device – easy as that!
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These cameras may be a bit pricey, but they provide great functionality. With their wide viewing angle and interchangeable optical lenses, as well as other features that make them the best baby monitors for the money, these cameras make the best baby monitors you can get.