Baby monitors are one of the first gadgets an expecting parent purchases. Many of the baby monitors available today provide parents with an incredible amount of information in real-time about their little one. These devices have evolved over-time and have become smart and unique with the wide array of extra features each monitor may offer.
Baby monitors truly do suit the need of every type of family - whether you’re a frequent traveler or busy at home, a reliable baby monitor can help make your days and nights easier. When you’re shopping for a baby monitor you’ll need to consider each feature and decide what’s important to your family. We’ve conducted substantial research and spoken to thousands of parents like you in hopes to make your decision a little bit easier. Here in this article, you’ll find all the answers to the most asked questions about baby monitors.
1. Why is it important to monitor baby’s movement?
The best baby movement monitors will have the highest level of accuracy and sensitivity. Baby breathing monitors, such as Babysense 7, use highly accurate sensors to track your baby’s movement while they’re asleep and alert you to any irregularities in breathing or movement. Because long breathing pauses are associated with sleep apnea and SIDS, many owners share with us that their baby movement monitor have been literally life-saving.
Many parents attribute their peace of mind to movement monitors because they’re confident in the monitor’s ability to wake them up if any problem is detected. These monitors sound an alarm if the baby may be in danger, which classifies movement monitors as an essential in-home baby device. As a bonus, Babysense is also a provider of medical devices in over 3000 hospitals across 20+ countries, using this same technology to enhance the abilities of infant medical care providers.
2. Why should I buy a baby monitor?
When it comes to baby products, sometimes parents get stuck on the question: “Do I need this?”. However, most parents will tell you that a baby monitor is a necessity when bringing your baby home. The best part is that most baby monitors will grow with your child. Here are the three top reasons to buy a baby monitor:
- Convenient reassurance - the obvious comfort of a baby monitor is the ability to hear and/or see your baby without having to physically be there. A quick check on your monitor provides all the reassurance parents need to sleep well, without risking waking your baby.
- Sleep training - if you’re planning on sleep training - your future self will thank you for having a baby monitor handy. As your baby grows into a toddler their sleeping habits dramatically change. With an accessible monitor, you will be able to interpret the reason for your child’s cries and fussiness without having to be in the room. You also may witness some very cute activities and self-soothing that may not happen while you are physically present.
- Monitoring older children - As your baby becomes more independent, you’ll still be able to watch them as they play alone or even to monitor them as you transition them from a crib to their first big-kid bed.
3. Where should I put my baby monitor?
When installing your baby monitor, find a place in the nursery that is at least 3 feet away from the crib, while still being positioned well enough to give you a clear view of your baby. Test the microphone on the baby unit to make sure it is picking up sounds from your child.
The best places to put a baby monitor are:
- Wall-mounted on a corner near the ceiling - this location gives the camera wide coverage of the nursery and is placed high enough to be out of reach. This location is best for baby monitors that have a remote pan, tilt, and zoom feature.
- On a high shelf - if mounting the camera to the wall isn’t an option, prop the monitor on a high shelf or on a few boxes to get a good viewing angle. This location is best if your baby monitor doesn’t have a pan, tilt, and zoom feature because you will be able to manually adjust it to get the best crib view.
4. Where can I buy a baby monitor?
Baby monitors are sold in stores and online. Parents have access to many different monitors that vary in price, technology, size, and more. When deciding which baby monitor is best for your family, you should take into account the features that are important to you, such as movement monitoring, screen size, video quality, and others.
A baby monitor that is easy to install and use should be high on your list of what to expect from a monitor system. If you want to be extra diligent in your research, you can compare and contrast Babysense’s monitors here.
5. How do baby monitors work?
There are three types of baby monitors: analog, digital, and wireless networks.
- Analog baby monitor - analog radio waves transmit the sounds of the baby to the receiver or parents unit. Analog signals are considered safe to be near your baby because they are lower frequency signals.
- Digital baby monitor - a digital connection also transmits and receives the audio/video but has a microprocessor embedded in the monitor to ensure that the only nursery sounds you hear are your own.
- Wireless networks - a wifi-based monitor transmits to the nearest wifi router instead of to a receiver. A wifi connected baby monitor is the newest technology, however, it is solely dependent on wifi - which isn’t always reliable.
6. Can baby monitors be hacked?
The majority of baby monitors don’t get hacked. That said, baby monitors that use a wifi connection have significant security flaws that make it easier for hackers to take over the monitor system. As with any internet-connected device, the chances of a hack are never zero.
Privacy and security concerns hold paramount importance at Babysense, which is why we recommend avoiding wifi-based baby monitors and opt for a hack-free baby monitor. All our monitors are encrypted and have a closed-circuit - meaning hackers would need military-grade technology, be in the same room with the monitor, and still may not be able to hack into our signal.
We keep hackers at bay by reconfiguring their internal system to block incoming frequencies by using a 2.4 GHz frequencies connection. Baby monitors using 2.4 GHz frequency as opposed to wifi are considered to be the most secure and hack-proof due to a more encrypted signal.
7. Which baby monitors are protected against hackers?
The good news is, because of the rise in concern regarding your privacy, baby monitor manufacturers are implementing stricter safeguards on video monitor software and programming. It is vital to find a baby monitor that has these safeguards in place.
Hackers look for compromised digital devices that use a wifi network. At Babysense, we follow a strict privacy policy to protect our users against hackers. As we continue to follow these guidelines, our system remains a secure and hack-free device your family can feel safe using. Please refer to our privacy policy to learn more about our software.
8. What makes a baby monitor safe?
The safety of a baby monitor is dependent on a few factors: location, wiring, and connection. While you may want to keep a monitor as close as possible to the crib, it’s safer to keep the monitor more than three feet away, especially when your baby learns to grab everything in sight. It’s important to also make sure all power cords and wiring are completely out of reach to avoid danger. To stay connected to your baby, remember to stay within the monitor’s range. A monitor that uses encrypted digital technology helps reduce interference and keeps all video and sound transmission clear and secure.
9. What makes a baby monitor good?
The best baby monitors come down to important and practical features that will make them all the much easier to use. However, the right baby monitor is relative to what features are important to you. Below we look at some baby monitor features that offer outstanding convenience for parents.
From a pure image standpoint, a good baby monitor will have great night vision, motorized pan-tilt-zoom capabilities, and high-resolution screens. Screen size and audio output can make all the difference between an okay and great baby monitor. Having the option to monitor your baby’s movement is an added feature that provides parents with extra peace of mind.
10. What should you look for when buying a baby monitor?
If you find yourself overwhelmed by what might feel like infinite choices and ask yourself, “what baby monitor should I buy?” consider the following:
When a parent purchases a baby monitor, they expect to benefit from the peace of mind, security, and safety that come with it. Does your baby sleep in the same room as you at night, or in a room farther away? Do you make frequent visits to their room at night and worry about their comfort and sleeping habits? Answering these questions can help you decide what type of monitor you will benefit from.
11. Are baby monitors bad?
Baby monitors are not bad. They allow parents to monitor the baby's safety while simultaneously providing peace of mind. However, if used incorrectly, they can pose a danger. A big concern is the placement of the baby monitor in the nursery and making sure that cords are completely out of reach.
Because the health and safety of your baby are paramount, it is important that you carefully follow the instructions and guidelines provided in your baby monitor’s user manual.
12. Can baby monitors record?
Baby monitors give parents live audio and video feeds of the baby’s room. Not all baby monitors record video, but newer technology does allow parents to record and send video from their baby monitor as well as record sound using voice commands. The camera’s feed either stores in the cloud or in an SD card.
13. Do baby monitors work on a cruise ship?
If you’re considering taking your Babysense monitor on a cruise, you’re in luck! Our monitors work in any environment just as long as they can be plugged in. You can set up your monitor just as you would at home, and enjoy your vacation with an extra sense of relaxation.
If your monitor relies on a wifi connection, you should know that even if wifi is offered it can be spotty and unreliable. Consider the range of your digital monitor to know if you will have a signal on different levels on the ship.
14. Do baby monitors need wifi to work?
No. Most digital and audio baby monitors can work without wifi. Not all baby monitors require wifi to transmit visual or audio signals from the camera to the parent unit. There are baby monitors that work solely on wireless networks, however, the safety and security of these monitors are often questioned because of their ability to hack broadband connections and cloud storage systems. If you’re interested to see a list of the top non-wifi baby monitors, check out this blog post regarding the safest monitors for your home.
15. Do baby monitors have radiation?
Because the health and safety of our children are the most important thing, it’s key to discuss the correlation between baby monitors and radiation. Most baby monitors use DECT or FHSS technologies that operate on frequencies ranging from 1.89GHz to 2.4GHz, the same electromagnetic frequencies that wifi routers use. However, few monitors have no radiation because they don’t require a signal.
Babysense 7 is a revolutionary baby monitor that is safe in every sense of the word. This movement monitor ensures your child’s safety as they sleep by using under-the-mattress sensor pads while simultaneously emitting zero radiation, as it does not require a signal to function.
What can we do to protect our children from unnecessary radiation? Keep baby monitors at a safe distance from the crib, turn the system off when you’re not using it, and make sure the monitor you use is no more than 2.4GHz.
16. Can baby monitors interfere with wifi?
Most video baby monitors that cause interference are wifi-connected. Because these monitors rely solely on an internet connection, there is no guarantee you will always have a clear video feed. Many factors play a role in determining if your monitor will experience interference at any given time, such as how many people are connected to the same network, which in turn yields a slower video monitor feed and heightens your chances of interference.
The solution is finding a baby monitor that relies on its internal network, not on outside devices. The Babysense Bundle Pack includes an interference-free video monitor feed that guarantees you will always have a crystal clear view of your baby, day or night.
17. Which baby monitors work with Alexa?
New to the baby monitor market is voice-controlled monitors that work with Amazon’s Alexa. These smart monitors require a wifi connection and work via an app that uses your phone or tablet as the parent device. These smart monitors cost more than other video monitors and have mixed feedback regarding how effective voice control is. Many parents have also reported that the voice control feature sounded nice at the time of purchase, but was rarely used and deemed unimportant in choosing a baby video monitor.
18. Can baby monitors pick up orbs?
Have you ever noticed orbs floating around on your video monitor? There are admittedly lots of reports of parents seeing orbs in their baby’s nursery, enough to make this one of the most asked questions on Google. We aren’t paranormal experts, but who knows!
19. Can baby monitors work without wifi?
Yes. Because of security concerns surrounding wifi-enabled cameras, a popular choice amongst parents is baby monitors that don’t connect to the internet. Babysense’s video baby monitor is a top choice and was rated as the best non-wifi baby monitor of 2020.
20. Which baby monitors are the best?
There are so many baby monitors on the market with a variety of features for parents to choose from. The best baby monitor is relative to your budget, and what features are important to you.
Yet, some makes and models go above and beyond with monitor features and movement sensors that alert you instantly if no motion is detected. These features differentiate between good and better baby monitors.
21. What baby monitors connect to iPhone?
For a monitor to be able to connect to your iPhone it must be wifi-based. We’ve previously discussed the privacy concerns associated with internet-connected baby monitors, and as appealing as it may be to have your monitor connect to your iPhone, it might not be the best decision. Like everything in life, there are pros and cons, however we think the cons of an internet connection outweigh the pros on this one.
22. What baby monitors have an app?
A baby monitor app can convert your smartphone or tablet to a baby monitor. Many baby monitors now offer users a free app to use, in addition to their receiver. Most baby monitor apps provide the same features you find on the parent unit but in a portable, on the go solution. Again, the appeal to these features is there, but we advise you to be aware of the app’s security and privacy fine print.
23. Are baby monitors safe?
Baby monitors are safe, but it’s our job as parents to go the extra mile and do the research so that we can make good child safety decisions. Two concerns come to mind when you think about baby monitor safety: radiation and hackers.
There’s been no proven link between exposure to baby monitor frequencies and adverse health effects. However, we still advise you to make sure there is at least a three feet distance between the monitor system and your child for extra safety measures.
Reports of hacked baby monitors are out there, but the more we research this issue, the more we find that it is solely wifi-based monitors that are getting hacked. For your family’s protection, it's advised to find a monitor that guarantees a hack-free connection, as we do for all our products.
24. Are baby monitors essential?
According to many parents, here are the most important reasons for purchasing a baby monitor: peace of mind and safety, sleep, monitoring movement (especially important for newborns), and space and time. The key thing to remember about baby monitors is they are there to help you. They notify you if your attention is required, giving you the freedom to proceed with daily life.
25. Are baby monitors secure?
Making sure our baby monitors are secured is of utmost importance - which is why finding a hack-free baby monitor should be at the top of your list. Babysense’s V65 baby monitor guarantees a hack-free, secure interference connection.
26. Are baby monitors dangerous?
Keeping our children safe may feel like an overwhelming sense of responsibility, however, we can greatly reduce any dangers a baby monitor may pose by being diligent, reading, and following installation directions in our user manual.
Babysense is committed to helping you make safe choices for yourself, your home, and your family. All of our baby monitoring products have been thoroughly tested and extensively reviewed to give you peace of mind while your baby snoozes.
We hope we’ve answered all your burning questions regarding baby video and movement monitors. By following these important steps you’ll be creating a safe sleep environment, which will keep your child happy, healthy, and comfortable and put you at ease knowing your child is secure.
