Best Baby Monitor
Young infants need constant attention.
They need constant feeding, diaper changes, and consolation from their caregivers.
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Parents and guardians must be always alert to answer their infant’s calls.
This may prove to be a challenge, especially when the caregiver is in one room, and the infant is in another.
A baby monitor provides the solution to this problem.
A baby monitor is a radio transmitter that is used to remotely check on a baby’s well-being.
The monitor has two units which are the transmitter and receiver.
The transmitter unit has an in-built microphone which is used to receive sound signals.
The sound signals are then conveyed via radio waves to the receiver unit.
The receiver unit has an in-built speaker, through which the sound signals can be heard.
The transmitter unit is normally placed in the baby’s bedroom or near the baby’s crib, while the receiver unit is placed near or carried by the baby’s caregivers.
By using this monitor, a parent can leave the baby alone and attend to other duties.
If and when the baby wakes up, or cries, the caregiver will receive such information via the receiver.
This can all be done, without having to be physically present at the baby’s bedside.
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Types of baby monitors
There are several types of baby monitors. Some of them include;
Audio monitors
These are the most basic and traditional forms of baby monitors that can be found.
They only monitor sound.
They have two major components namely the transmitter and receiver.
The transmitter unit is placed in the baby’s bedroom. It has an in-built microphone.
This microphone captures sounds made by the baby.
These sounds are then transmitted to the receiving unit that is carried around by the caregiver.
The receiving unit has an in-built speaker.
Through this speaker, the caregiver can listen to the sounds made by the baby.
This type of monitor uses radio waves to transmit sound.
Video monitors
These types of monitors transmit both sound and audio.
They are also known as baby cams. They are better than audio monitors.
This is because, one can not only listen to the baby’s sounds but also see the baby.
This is quite useful with growing toddlers who can roll over, sit-up, and stand.
A caregiver can easily monitor what their baby is doing and ensure that they are safe.
Movement monitors
A movement monitor, as the name suggests, monitors the movement of an infant whilst in the crib.
They are placed underneath the crib’s mattress.
They record movement, when a baby rolls over or moves any limb.
With many of these monitors, if no movement is detected within twenty seconds, an alarm is sounded.
The alarm notifies the baby’s caregivers that something could be wrong and thus the infant must be immediately checked upon.
Digital monitors
This type of monitors is extremely safe and private. This is because it is heavily encrypted.
The signals transmitted over the system are only accessible to persons having the receiving unit.
This ensures privacy as persons not connected to the system cannot intercept signals.
Heart-rate monitors
These types of monitor check on the baby’s heart-rate.
They are tiny electrodes placed on an infant’s chest. They check to see that the infant’s heart is still beating.
They are useful especially with sick infants admitted or recently discharged from the hospital.
If their heart-rate drops, an alarm is sounded prompting the child’s caregivers to rush it to the hospital.
Tips on selecting the best baby monitors
While looking for the best baby monitor money can buy, the following are the things to look out for;
Sound activated lights
It is always best to pick out a baby monitor with sound-activated lights.
Sound activated lights are LED lights that go on and keep flickering when the baby makes a sound.
This useful especially, when the caregiver of a child is doing something noisy such as vacuuming and may not immediately hear the baby via the baby monitor.
Wireless receiver
Buy a baby monitor with a wireless receiver.
A wireless receiver ensures portability.
A baby’s caregiver with this kind of receiver is not bound to stay at any one given point of the home.
They can move around and perform house tasks conveniently and still monitor their child.
Adjustable cameras
Baby monitors with adjustable cameras are wonderful when one needs to keep a constant eye on their infant.
With an adjustable camera, one can zoom in or tilt the lens to get a much closer look at their child.
Talk-back
A baby monitor with talk-balk capability is an impressive tool.
Talk-balk allows you to speak to the child and comfort them, while not being physically present in the room.
This is useful especially when sleep-training a toddler.
One can comfort their baby without picking them up.
Music and lullabies
Baby monitors with music and lullaby features are very useful.
When the baby is agitated, the caregiver can simply play music over the baby monitor and immediately calm the child.
This just like the talk-back feature is useful when sleep-training a toddler.
One can comfort the child without having to physically touch them.
Rechargeable batteries
Baby monitors are constantly plugged into a power source throughout the whole day and night.
Thus, it is imperative to have a baby monitor, whose components have rechargeable batteries.
This encourages the responsible use of electricity and may prove useful if the power goes out.
Night vision
A video monitor with night vision capabilities, empowers you to check on your child even when the lights are off and the room is dark.
Video monitors with night vision use infrared LED lights that can pick up images even in extremely low lighting or darkness.
Range
It is always good to have a baby monitor with a wide range.
Range is the radius within which the receiver can pick up signals from the transmitter.
The higher the range, the wider the radius of transmission.
This means that regardless of the location of the caregiver in the house, they can still monitor their child.
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