Baby Monitors

Many things about watching babies hasn't changed for thousands of years. But, happily, technology has improved one aspect dramatically. Baby monitors allow for remote viewing and listening that provides security and safety for the child and peace of mind for parents.

All About Baby Monitors

Not surprisingly, since consumer electronics has developed to such an extent over the past 10-20 years, baby monitors are now equally sophisticated. Many have become a combination of TV/Security camera, microphone and speaker, and computer all rolled into one.

Not only do they provide the basic audio and/or visual ability that is basic to any baby monitor, but with added motion sensors and other features they increase security and safety well beyond previous generations.

The most basic models offer only audio. They're chiefly a microphone that transmits sound to a speaker in another room. But even these low-end types can make that much more convenient and useful than models of the past. The speaker, for example, no longer is just a cheap little box that sits on a table. It can be in the form of a cell-phone style unit that is easily carried on the belt or in a pocket.

More expensive but more functional models add a visual feature. The camera is focused on the baby's room or bed. The receiving unit, here too, can be of one of two basic types. The less expensive models feature a small TV-style receiver that can be conveniently set on a kitchen counter or living room table. Others are a mobile monitor the size of a cell phone LCD.

One other aspect that has improved enormously over the years is the range. Just as with portable phones, higher frequency baby monitors now allow the receiver and transmitter to be much further apart than in years past. No longer restricted to a few yards away within the home, the mobile receiver can be placed outside next to the pool or garden fence, in the garage... anywhere your phone will reach. Just as with phones, interference is virtually a thing of the past, too.

Still other models incorporate computer and Internet technology. These types can transmit audio-video to your computer in the home office or at work miles away. While not intended to allow parents to leave a baby unsupervised, it makes it easy for the parent at work to know instantly what the one at home sees or hears.

That feature also opens up the option of recording. Like any security camera-style device, much of that footage is going to be uninteresting. Thank heavens! But when something is amiss it can often be very helpful to be able to view the preceding and following minutes.

That provides the ultimate in security. But it's also helpful in less extreme situations. Babies who become ill or injured can be better diagnosed when there's a continual, real-time record of their actions. Multiple transmitting units can send data for more than one room to a single location, as well. That's handy for keeping an 'eye' on more than one child at a time.

Still more sophisticated systems are available that sense the baby's movements and provide alarms when they reach certain limits of distance or force. That's highly useful for babies who are a little restless when sleeping or when you want to know they are waking up. It provides the next best thing to having a robot continually watch and report back on anything of interest or concern. Wait a few years and that may be an option, too!