Our advice for making a good purchase of a baby monitor

The baby monitor is a transmitter-receiver which will allow you to keep an eye on your child from a distance both day and night. In this way you will be able to get on with things in other rooms in the house and the device will alert you if baby wakes up. Knowing a little about the different technical criteria will allow you to choose a reliable and efficient device.

Power

If your accommodation is large or you leave your child in the house while you go out to do the gardening, the device must have sufficient range, which means a high transmitter power. However, some studies have shown that the magnetic waves emitted may cause dangers for health. As a precaution some specialists advise against baby alarms with a power greater than 10mW. In all cases, you must comply with European Standard PMR446 and turn the device off when its use is not required.

Reception

In order not to pick up the signal from your neighbour's baby alarm, it is preferable to have a high number of receive channels. Some models guarantee to find you an unused channel to prevent any interference. The more it is possible to set the device accurately, the more sensitive and efficient it will be.

Battery life

It is recommended that you choose a wireless model with a power relay battery or rechargeable batteries, rather than a model with traditional batteries, which will cost more in the long run. Make sure that the device warns the user by a sound signal when the reception range has been exceeded or the battery needs to be replaced.

Functions

Some of the more sophisticated models may be more reassuring for anxious parents. Fitted with a camera, they can see the baby sleeping, and talk to it using the microphone system included, or recognise the temperature of the bedroom. But the most astonishing model is the baby alarm which is capable, by means of a receiver placed under the cot, to detect the child's breathing. This technique, which alerts you if the baby stops breathing, has been designed to prevent the sudden death of the infant, who can be resuscitated as quickly as possible.

In conclusion

The price of a baby alarm varies from 30 to 150 Euros. This device gives peace of mind to many parents, together with freedom of movement and baby is not unnecessarily disturbed while it snoozes. However, its use does not replace the need for the parent actually to be there to see to the well-being of the very young child.