When parents are unable to be in the same room as their little one, a baby monitor is a great way to make them feel at ease. At night time you can sleep more easily in a separate room, while at the same time you will still be aware of when your baby needs changing or fed. And during the day you are free to do things around the home without checking on baby every minute.
We need to consider a few things before buying a baby monitor:
- what is your budget
- the type of house you have ” if its large and/or has concrete walls, you will need a monitor with strong transmission capacity
- if you wish to see your child you will need an audio monitor with video capabilities
What Types of Monitor are There?
- Audio only: the basic type of monitor will offer audio only. You can have one or two receivers with this type, the two option gives a little more flexibility.
- Audio and movement: this type has three parts: -the transmitter -a pad to place under the mattress to detect breathing and/or movement -a receiver
- Audio and video: this type ” in addition to some of the features already mentioned above – consists of a small camera that you can safely place near your baby and a small TV screen that you can take with you. Some of the higher end models even have infra red so you can see baby in the dark.
Important Considerations
- Source of power: the battery operated monitors provide for more mobility but can use a lot of batteries to power up. The best ones then offer a combination of both a/c adapter plugs and batteries or use rechargeable batteries.
- A volume control: useful when you do not wish to hear every single sound that your baby makes all of the time anyhow.
- LED lighting on the receiver: if for some reason you are unable to hear the receiver (you could be doing the laundry, for example) then an LED lighting option on the receiver is a valuable addition.
- Multi-channel option: this will allow you to find a channel that has the least interference in your area. Interference is often caused by mobile/cellular and cordless phones.
- The choice of frequency: if you are in need of a choice in channel frequency for the baby monitor due to lots of interference in your area, do not opt for the basic 49 MHz option. Either go for the 900 MHz monitor or even better, the 2.4 GHz monitor option.
- Low battery indication ” of vital importance. Shows when the batteries are low.
- Size: if you move around a lot then a receiver that can be easily carried around with you is ideal. Also, if you travel often with your child its important to have a baby monitor that is light weight and easily packed.
- Two receiver option: good to have if you prefer to have one receiver left permanently in your bedroom for example, while the other one can be moved around the house as you need it.
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