Keep These 8 Tips in Mind When Buying a Baby Monitor

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Keep These 8 Tips in Mind When Buying a Baby Monitor

Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed

One of the greatest helps for busy parents these days are baby monitors. With a baby monitor, you are not only allowed greater freedom of movement around the house, but you can also provide better safety for your children, even when it’s not possible for you to be right by their side. However, new parents may find it difficult to select a baby monitor that is right for them, since there are so many different varieties available.Here are a few qualities that you should look for in a good monitoring device, whether you choose audio, video, digital, or analog.

1. The reception of the device should be clear, whether it is audio or video, as well as being low static. This is a very important consideration to ensure the safety of your child. It is imperative that your baby’s activities can be heard or seen clearly.

2. One way in which you can keep an eye on your child while you are working is to have a baby monitor that comes with a compact and portable receiver that can be comfortably carried around. Many modern baby monitors are equipped with ultra small receivers.

3. Many baby monitors come equipped with receivers that have belt clips so that the parents can carry the device around with them. It’s important to ensure that the attachment is durable enough to endure daily usage if you intend to frequently carry the receiver throughout the house.

4. There are also baby monitors that have a light alarm which is activated whenever it picks up sound. This feature is ideal for those moments when you may be preoccupied with loud noises such as the television or the vacuum cleaner.

5. This is often overlooked, so do ensure your baby monitor has a feature that indicates when the device’s battery is low. Not knowing battery levels, you could be unaware that the device is not working, and possibly compromise your baby’s safety.

6. It’s also important that you pick the correct range or bandwidth. A large area will need a broad range, whereas a monitor used in an apartment or small house would need less, particularly if the device is going to be near many mobile phones or other devices which transmit and receive signals.

7. If you’re considering a wireless model, be aware that you might experience interference with the signal. You and your next-door neighbors may utilize similar channels and wind up hearing noises from each other’s homes. Cordless telephones may also interfere with your signal. Look for a product that utilizes no-interference technology or has additional security features.

8. Advanced technology has resulted in baby monitors that offer visual options as well. This is good, but you still can’t keep your eyes glued to the video screen - you might as well sit with the baby, then! So don’t compromise on the quality of sound to get a video monitor that’s really not that useful.

Remember that the best baby monitors may not always be the most expensive ones. The most important thing is that the model you choose is suitable for your requirements, as well as being tough enough to survive everyday use. Of course, the most important features are the ones that enable you to keep your baby safe.

About the Author: Ashley King is editor of the Family Section at i-KnowHow | Information for Life, where you’ll also find ideas and tips for hobbies, home and garden, personal finance, technology basics and much more.