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Choosing the right baby monitor
Classic, multifunction, sound and movement… There are hundreds of models. What differences?
The different models of baby monitors
The classic baby monitor
The baby monitor or baby monitor consists of a transmitter to be placed in your baby’s room and a receiver that follows you in all the rooms of the house. An audible alert, often supplemented by a visual alert, alerts you when your little one wakes up.
Economical, it is easy to use and emits low transmission frequencies (although it should always be placed at least 1m from your baby). The current multifunction baby monitors give them a little bit of old … But they are still a safe bet!
Multifunctional baby monitor
Baby monitors are integrating more and more other functions.
They can be used as a night light to make it easier for your little one to fall asleep, as a walkie-talkie to reassure him from a distance or as a thermometer to ensure the temperature in the room.
Classic or digital, it should be placed 1 to 3 m from the child.
The video baby monitor
Also more expensive, some multifunctional baby monitors offer a video function to monitor baby’s sleep without disturbing him.
The quality of the image is often very good. The Vox function activates the baby monitor as soon as your baby makes a noise.
As the electromagnetic waves it emits are more powerful than conventional baby monitors, place it more than 3 m from your child. And don’t forget to turn it off when it’s not in the room, for example.
The sound and movement baby monitor
High-tech baby monitors combine the baby monitor with a motion detector mat. They include most of the previous functions: night light, temperature display, video, but are made more efficient by the motion detector mat.
Placed under the mattress, the sound and movement baby monitor emits a visual and audible alert if no movement is detected for more than 20 seconds. It is the top in security, because it combines the three monitoring channels (sound, video and movement). On the other hand, its price is relatively high.
And let yourself be guided by our expert advice
Limit radiation
Baby monitors emit waves, like almost all wireless devices. DECT technology – used on cordless telephones – is the most criticized. Although the harmful impact of these waves has not been proven, the precautionary principle must apply for babies, whose brains are developing at full speed and are more receptive.
– Prefer low power models.
– Prefer models that activate when your baby cries and do not emit when he is silent (VOX technology).
– Do not switch on the base if the receiver is not switched on; your baby would absorb waves for nothing.
– Keep the baby monitor as far away as possible, never less than one meter.
– Avoid the cocktail effect linked to the increase in exposure.
To remember, on the security side …
– Remember to check the batteries or the state of charge of the batteries regularly.
– Do not leave the electric wires accessible in the room when the toddler is old enough to trudge. He could wind up dangerously in it.
– Never leave the child alone at home on the pretext that you are connected with a baby monitor!
The price of the baby monitor
Here is a range of prices, found in specialized stores.
– The classic baby monitor: 30 to 80 euros
– Multifunctional baby monitor: 45 to 150 euros
– Sound and movement baby monitor: 85 to 200 euros