Baby Monitors And What You Need To Know

A baby monitor serves as the eyes and ears of the parent when he or she is in another room. A monitor system consist of a child transmitter, parent receivers and (usually) a wall-mounted or tabletop camera. Audio-only baby monitors are also available, but the video infant monitor is the most popular because it allows parents to see and hear what's going on. In addition to safety benefits, many parents enjoy listening and watching their little baby talk through the monitor.

There are a number of helpful features to look for in a modern baby monitor. For instance, some offer both sound and lights, which is handy for parents who are working, on the phone, or would rather not hear a sudden, ear-piercing shriek through the receiver. Often, the louder the baby cries, the more lights flash. Of course, video monitors can show a sleeping baby or a baby who is awake, also eliminating the need for audio tracking. Some wireless baby monitors come with more than one receiver, which is a good option for larger houses or two parents who are on-duty at the same time. Belt clips are ideal for the on-the-go parent who is moving around the house and doesn't want to be bothered with the hand-held receiver. After all, what good is a monitor if one forgets to have it in the room with them?

One of the typical complaints with the baby monitor is interference. This is the downside of any sort of transmitting device, like a cell phone, cordless phone, pager or wireless internet connection. Cell phones, appliances, radios and fluorescent lights can all possibly interfere with a new baby infant monitor, causing fuzzy reception and strange voices to be heard through the receiver. Even video monitors can suffer poor reception, so it's important that a monitor is selected that operates on different frequencies. (For instance, a 2.4 GHz monitor and a 2.4 GHz cordless phone may interfere with each other). If the next door neighbors are also monitoring a baby, then digital baby monitors will ensure the neighbors aren't listening in to your house.

There are two main types of baby monitor, which are analog and digital. Analog monitors operate on a frequency band like radios do, sending signals from the monitor to the receiver. Digital monitors operate on a specific frequency and they encode the signal before transmitting it from the monitor to the receiver, making it just about impossible for neighbors to listen in and at the same time decreasing the possibility of interference from cordless phones, household appliances, garage door openers and other electronic devices. Most of the better baby monitors are digital, although they usually cost a little more.

Some of the best known baby monitor brands include Graco (www.gracobaby.com), Phillips (www.hearmybaby.com), Evenflo (www.evenflo.com), Summer Infant (www.summerinfant.com), Safety 1st (www.safety1st.com), Fisher-Price (www.fisher-price.com), Mobicam (www.getmobi.com), Unisar BebeSounds (www.bebesounds.com), Sony (www.sony.com) and The First Years (www.thefirstyears.com). Prices range anywhere from $15 to $200 for audio-only or $100 to $300 for an audio/video baby monitor system.

In the end the choice is yours. Do you want the simplicity of an audio only system which will save you money. Or would you prefer the features offered with a video/audio system?