Baby Monitors

Baby monitors are available in three primary forms: audio, video and movement. If your main concern is hearing when your baby wakes up, then an audio-only monitor will do the trick. These baby monitors tend to be smaller, and less expensive. With a video baby monitor, there are a wide variety of options available, including different screen sizes, cameras that tilt, pan and zoom, and night vision. This type of monitor tends to provide extra levels of security, allowing you to tell if your baby is lying down or standing up, to track sleep patterns, and to evaluate whether intervention is required, or whether your child seems likely to self-soothe and fall back asleep. Plus, if you get a video camera that connects to your Wi-Fi, you can use the camera as a nanny cam, and check the baby video even when you're away from home. Movement-based baby monitors are designed to track your baby's heart rate, movement, respiration, skin temperature and sleep quality.

With a baby monitor, you're able to keep tabs on your little one(s) during nap time or nighttime, and still go about your day. Generally, the number one benefit provided by the best baby monitors are peace of mind, followed closely by the benefits of security and convenience. Plus, since homes and habits vary, a baby monitor may have additional uses, like allowing you to monitor how long it takes your preschooler to fall asleep, keeping track of playtime, or even using it as a pet cam.

Range, clarity and minimal interference are factors that should be considered when you're selecting a device for baby monitoring. Range especially is something you'll want to verify/test yourself once you get any of the monitors home because they are often rated in a line-of-sight situation, but rarely used that way. Depending on the monitor type, whole home Wi-Fi can be a great option to keep your monitor wirelessly connected just about anywhere in your home. With video baby monitors, you may also want to consider getting one with the ability to record, while a low battery indicator, volume control, temperature display, and a music player may also be important convenience factors for you. Privacy can also be a consideration. Digital monitors are more difficult to hack than analog monitors because their transmissions are encoded.