The other night I was at my friends’ house, and I notice they were using a video baby monitor. After seeing them peaking at the monitor screen, I wonder if a video monitor was better than an audio monitor. After making a complete list of the pros and cons, it becomes evident that I should get a video baby monitor.
Using a baby monitor reduce anxiety and stress. It also helps parents getting things done while their little bundle of love is finally napping. It’s also allowing moms and dads to get a bit more sleep at night.
- Check on your baby easily
- See what your baby is doing
- You check if your kid is really sleeping
- See inside the room without opening the light
- Monitor a child with health issues
- Sleep training your kid
- Monitor a shared bedroom
- Better sleep tracking
- Monitor your kid without being at home
- Record precious moments with your video baby monitor
- Talk to your kid through the monitor
- It is ideal for traveling families
- Take a relaxing shower
- Have more sleep
I always tough that video monitors were an costly and pure luxury.
I found those baby video monitors are reasonably priced if you take the time to review them.
Let’s be frank! You don’t need a video monitor. It finally comes down to whatever makes you feel better and make your day more manageable for you and your baby.
If you’re seeking for the best baby monitor and hoping to find real reviews from real parents. You should check out this list I created of the top baby monitors.
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Here are some excellent reasons why to buy a video monitor.
1. Check on your baby easily
Anxious parents, like me, can get reassured in one click. You can do multiple checks on your baby, without having to move. This is an excellent help to a mom who just got their new baby.
Parents use to get this peace of mind by checking on their little sleeper in person. A video baby monitor will save you the trip to the nursery to lay an eye on your precious baby. Also, you will avoid the risk of waking your little one.
The video monitor will come very handy during naps. At first, the unfamiliar noise coming from your baby’s crib can get you worried. You don’t have to hesitate to check on your baby, by fear of waking baby too soon. You can get a sneak peek, without stepping into the bedroom.
2. See what your baby is doing
When you have an audio baby monitor, all strange noises from the monitor could force you to stop what you are doing to listen more carefully. That little pause, investigating if it just a false alarm, can be avoided with a video baby monitor.
By opening the camera, you can determine if your baby needs your help right now. This is more of a guessing game with audio only.
3. Check if your kid is really sleeping
When it’s time to go to bed, some kids refuse to stop playing. Even after you close the light, they could sneak out of bed to catch up on playtime.
With a video baby monitor, you can stay one step ahead. You can catch them the second they go out of bed.
Some smart monitor also has a temperature alarm that goes on if the kid goes out of range.
That feature is convenient to make them believe that mommy knows everything. Muahahaha.
4. See inside the room without opening the light
You will find very helpful to use a video monitor with the night vision feature, even while the baby is still sleeping in your bedroom. Just take a glimpse at the monitor screen without getting out of your bed. Using a video baby monitor with the night vision will let you see your baby clearly without opening the light. Which can lead to waking up your baby.
5. Monitor a child with health issues
If you have a baby with health issues, using a video monitor will take some worry off your shoulders. It’s helpful for physical difficulties, congenital illnesses and even allergies. Watching your child through the camera will help you detect dangerous position and situation.
Furthermore, a video monitor is perfect for monitoring baby with epilepsy, skin allergies and asthma. You will not see the visual signs of a problem using only an audio monitor.
From seizures to breathing difficulties, having the visual will help even to detect chocking and suffocation.
You will know how quickly you need to respond.
6. It’s helpful for sleep training
The video monitor is useful by empowering mom and dad to judge if their baby really needs their attention or if it’s the sound of a wailing siren.
Sleep training is very difficult for parents. It was especially tough for me. Most of the time, your kid is ok. But what if they need help?
To make sure they are safe, you can take a peek through the camera and not the nursery door. How many time I went into the door trying to see what’s going on and having to start the sleeping process all over again. I wish I has a video monitor just for that.
7. Monitor a shared bedroom
A video monitor is an excellent help for families with an older child sharing their bedroom with a baby or younger children.
It will give you the ability to check if the type of game there are playing it safe for younger children. Your older child could want to share his Lego’s with his newborn sibling.
Also, it possible that your first child is not happy to share his bedroom. This could lead to actions that are dangerous. Anything from climbing into the crib or throwing toys into the crib.
You will know if they are good roommates.
8. Better sleep tracking
During the night, many babies will toss and turn without making noise. If you only have the audio monitor, you can’t be sure if your baby was rolling and turning all night. According to WebMD babies should sleep at least 12 hours every day. In my experience, the mood of my kid was influenced a lot by the quality of sleep they got.
9. Monitor you kid without being at home
Some video monitor will connect through WIFI. Giving the possibility to watch the video feed from the internet securely.
This feature is appreciated by parents who have different work hours. Allowing the working parents to check on his loved one.
It’s also reassuring if you are nervous about leaving your kid with a families member or the babysitter for the first time. This is not about trusting the individual or not. But for being able to see and talk to your kid if he needs reassurance. Also, to be reassured that everything is going smoothly at home while you enjoy a well-deserved special dinner.
Some parents even still use it with older children to see if they are doing their homework or chores.
10. Record precious moments with your video baby monitor
Another surprising advantage of a good video baby monitor is the recording option. It allowed you to save precious moments.
Those videos can be shared with the working parents or the grandparents. Those special moments are every family’s favourites.
11. Talk to your kid trough the monitor
This will depend on the model of the video baby monitor you have. But some monitor can receive and send audio. Just like a walky-talky, you press the button, and you can talk to your kid. It’s helpful for calming your baby with soothing words from the sound of your voice.
12. It is ideal for travelling families
When you are visiting your family or friend, your baby will be probably be napping in a different room. There could be lots of noise, people talking, etc. Using an audio-only monitor may not be the right choice. Video baby monitor using an app on your smartphone are perfect while travelling. You can use it anywhere you go. You don’t have to worry with interference or the range covered. Some of them work on WIFI or your 3G connection.
13. Take a relaxing shower
Maybe you don’t know yet, but taking a shower while your baby is napping is an extreme sport. You have to be quick and always on the lookout. Its just don’t feel relaxing has it should. I can tell you from my experience, even if I was sure that my baby was asleep, I could hear noise (real or fake), and I was so nervous. Sometimes I also forgot the rinse my hair.
The sound of the shower could be interfering with noise from an audio monitor. But, with a video monitor, you only have to peak at the screen to see if your baby is still asleep.
Of course, you can survive without a proper shower, but sometime it could be the only 5 minutes you have for the entire day to relax.
14. Have more sleep
Right after your little bundle of joy falls asleep, it’s your chance to recharge your batteries. Getting a good night’s sleep or a quick nap can make a big difference in a parent life. Using a video monitor will give the peace of mind you need to be in your bed. Instead of half-sleeping on the rocking chair, know that you will be alarm when your baby is awake. Even if your rooms are on both ends of the house. Trust me, every minute of sleep is a gift you can’t refuse.
If you’re seeking for the best digital monitor and hoping to find real reviews from real parents. You should check out this list I created of the top baby monitors of 2020.
Now, the cons of using a video monitor.
Parents were doing fine before baby monitor where invented. Now, they are available, and the benefits of using one are just too excellent to pass on a baby monitor.
Nothing is perfect, especially with technology. Here’s the drawback of using a video monitor:
1. Feeling more anxious and worrying too much
Watching the screen can be addictive. Staring at your video monitor could contribute to helicopter parenting. Eventually, this leads to anxiety.
The same problem applies to the audio monitor. Parents are always paying attention to the white noise coming out of the monitor in case something happens. This makes it more challenging to do task who need your complete attention.
2. Video monitor could be hacked
They are many stories of video monitors been hacked. Most video monitors come with a default password, and some parents forgot to change it. Don’t neglect to look at the monitor security setup to reduce the chance of getting unwanted spectator.
Same with an audio monitor. Your neighbour could be picking up your signal or vice versa.
The good news is, video monitor has a security feature that can be enabled. With an extra precaution, you are safe. The audio monitor doesn’t have the option to secure the signal.
3. You are adding one more wire to the nursery
Loose wire in a baby’s room is dangerous. When you want to baby proof a bedroom, one of the first thing you look for is wires. Having a video monitor could mean having a device plug to the electric outlet. If the cord is not secure, your putting your baby at risk of strangulation.
Make sure the wire is fully secure, and the monitor is stable enough. So there’s no chance for your kid to knock the monitor off the shelves or play with the wire.
4. The baby monitor with a camera is expensive
A video monitor is more expensive than a standard audio monitor. This is a significant drawback when you see the total price for all the things to buy for the nursery.
But you don’t have to buy a new one. You can get a second-hand monitor, who has been used just a couple time for a quarter of the price.
5. Getting disconnected from the WiFi connection
This one of the most significant drawbacks of WIFI video monitor is that if your Internet connexion goes down, your monitor is not working.
Audio monitor is limited to the range of their signal. Losing the radio signal can be a problem too. It always possible for your audio monitor to encounter interference because of other wireless or electronic devices in your house.
Getting a video monitor seems to be the best choice.
The benefits of the video baby monitor vs the audio baby monitor are obviously not neglectable. This is why I would recommend buying a video monitor over the audio one.
Remember that a video monitor is not necessary. But after looking at the pros and cons, it seems like a nice to have.
P.S. If you’re seeking for the best baby monitor and hoping to find real reviews from real parents. You should check out this list I created of the top baby monitors.
To get the best insights and tips to find the best baby monitor, I read more than 300 reviews online and ask my friends or others parents. From all their insights and my own experience, I’ve built this list of the best baby monitors.
Still unsure about the monitor? Here is my review of the best baby monitors you should consider for your nursery: