A baby changes every aspect of your life, and that includes how you operate your household. While you once completed household chores whenever you were in the mood or had the time, you now have a little one demanding all of your time. Where did the free time go? It’s still there, but you have to work a little harder to make sure you have time for all of the important tasks in your life.
The key is to secure your baby in a safe location while you complete household chores, work from home or take care of other responsibilities. Nap times can become quite productive if you take advantage of the right tools, and baby video monitors are perhaps the most important tool to bring on board.
Understanding Baby Video Monitors
The simplest baby monitors are analog units which transfer sound from the baby’s room to one or more parent receivers. The clarity and consistency of sound coming from this type of monitor depends on the quality of the monitor, and that isn’t always determined by price.
Baby video monitors increase functionality by allowing parents to see their baby on a small video screen attached to their receiver. Some advanced models even allow parents to talk back to their babies through the receiver. Even without that advanced feature, just seeing your baby through video makes it easier to determine whether you need to attend to the baby or just wait until they calm back down and return to sleep.
Wired vs. Wireless Baby Video Monitors
Some baby video monitors plug into wall outlets for power. Many of these models are rechargeable, so you can plug them up long enough to secure a full charge and then unplug them if you need to move around your home without the wire.
Wireless video monitors are now hitting the market, and they are incredibly convenient because they use no wires and allow you to carry the receiver around the home without worry that it’s going to die out without you noticing.
Baby Monitor Range
One thing to consider when using a baby monitor is the distance between the monitor in the baby’s room and the parent receiver. If you have a large home, make sure you select a model with an extensive range so that you can move freely throughout your home without losing connection to the baby’s nursery.
Range is an issue for both wired and wireless baby monitors, analog as well as video monitors. If your home is smaller in scale or you don’t plan on moving too far from the baby’s room while using the receiver, then you may get by with a lower-priced monitor that features less range.
Is Video Worth the Price Tag?
There is a price difference between baby video monitors for the nursery and basic analog monitors. Since analog monitors have been on the market for generations and technology has surpassed them extensively, you can now find them for extremely cheap prices. There are also low-cost video monitors on the market which feature basic video and audio monitoring without advanced features, and they are often just slightly higher in price than audio-only baby monitors.
Most parents select video monitors because they have become quite affordable for basic models and they deliver added convenience and peace of mind. You can hear sounds through an audio monitor that aren’t clear and rush into the room only to find that the baby was just changing positions. When you look at the baby video monitor, you can determine whether you need to attend to the baby or not.
Do You Need Advanced Features?
If you really want a video monitor that keeps your baby safer and makes your life simpler, look for advanced models with the most advanced features. For instance, some monitors now allow you to push a button and speak into your child’s room directly through the receiver, so there is no need to go into the room to sing them back to sleep when they are a bit restless.
Some of the most elaborate baby video monitors allow you to transmit video feeds from your baby’s room to a computer. This allows you to get a visual on your baby whenever you want, even if you are at work and the baby is home with a sitter. Consider this a baby monitor and nanny cam all in one.
While advanced baby video monitors are definitely comforting, they also come with a price tag that is prohibitive for some parents. Perhaps it is something to add to the baby shower registry!
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