Baby Sound Monitors Review, continued
Author Name: Heidi Holvoet, PhD
Continued from part 1, my recommendations for baby sound monitors in the categories Hear Baby Breathe and Digital Sound Quality . And we round up with extra troubleshooting tips (static, lights, volume) for common issues with these devices.
Hear Baby Breathe
The
VTech Audio Baby Monitor
monitor has DECT6.0 crystal clear technology and is a good choice: not the cheapest but not
expensive at all for its quality.
Its main quality: it is sensitive and clear sounding enough to hear
your baby breathing, thanks to excellent white noise elimination.
It works with either rechargeable batteries or simple AAA batteries, and has a low battery alert signal.
I like the fact that it has
the '5-level sound indicator': graphic bars so you can
also
see
when you baby makes a noise. And there's even the option to use the 'vibrate' alert.
It has a good long range, so you can move quite far away from baby's
room. And it alerts you when it looses signal: when too far away or
when another signal interferes destructively.
Digital Sound Quality
The first one in the digital range with DECT
technology is the
Philips
Avent Basic Baby Monitor with Temperature Sensor
. It gives
excellent sound quality, no worries about interference or annoying
static sounds.
You can tune its sensitivity: this way you can opt to hear baby
breathe. But you can also choose to only hear louder
noises (crying, e.g. in an older baby or toddler).
Good feature: It speaks two-ways - Talk Back - which can be helpful
(and fun when
baby gets bigger :)).
You have the option to plug it in, or use the
batteries (and be alerted when they are about to run out).
Most parents are totally happy with this one. One flaw is that the
volume level is not as high as some need, like when using it in a noisy
room or outdoors.
Also the activity light signal, which is good to have, can not be
switched off. So you may need to hide it with a towel or some tape if
you have it near at night.
This baby sound monitor has the good
extra of a
temperature sensor in baby's room, with a display on your receiver. It
also has a few lullabies that you can switch on from your end, and a
soft glowing night light.
Baby Sound Monitors Troubleshooting
What if your sound monitor does not work well for you? Before returning it or buying a different monitor, try the following:
I get too much static
Firstly make sure you have it set up correctly, double check the manual
as it can be a detail. Also try using batteries only, and then try
plugging it in.
Then, as a test, switch off all other appliances near both transmitter
and receiver. If the static goes, switch them on again, one by one, to
find out which cause(s) the static.
The activity lights are too bright
If your monitor does not have the option to keep these lights off, use
dark colored tape to hide the lights. Or hang a dark towel over your
unit, but do make sure you still hear what you need to hear.
The lowest volume is too loud
Super simple but can avoid needing a new purchase: put a towel over your receiver. Or, stick a few layers of tape onto the holes where the sound comes out.
The highest volume is not high enough
This can happen with cheap monitors, due to static. It can even happen
with
some expensive ones, when using the
monitor during the day, outside or with a lot of activity/noise going
on.
Sadly there is not much you can do about the volume level, but do look
for
ways to reduce noise around you.
Many baby sound monitors have activity lights. You can use those lights
as a backup to the volume by putting the receiver in sight near you.
Article Author: Heidi Holvoet, PhD - Founder, senior sleep consultant
Heidi Holvoet, PhD, is the founder of the Baby Sleep Advice website and movement, an award-winning author, baby & toddler sleep consultant with 15+ years experience as well as a certified lactation counselor.
Over the years, Heidi has received several awards inluding a Mom's Choice Award (MCA) and National Parenting Awards (NAPPA) for her Baby Sleep Advice website, programs and books. Also, Baby Sleep Advice was awarded "Most Trusted Infant's Sleep Solutions Company 2023" in the Benelux Enterprise Awards 2023.
Heidi continually conducts personal research and participates in continued education and in that way stays up to date with current scientific and pyschosocial infant care.
She is also a member of the Association of Professional Sleep Consultants of which she was one of the earliest contributors. She obtained her PhD degree in physics at the University of Ghent in Belgium.
Heidi is passionate about helping babies and their parents sleep more and better, with her trademark approach that has been proven and praised time and again by parents worldwide to be effective and truly no-tears. Respect for you as a parent and your baby, is at the heart of Heidi's warm and kind support. Her approach always keeps in mind a baby's needs and abilities at any given age, is based on pediatric science and the most up to date knowledge in infant care and sleep science.
As well as the award-winning baby sleep programs, Heidi offers popular 1:1 consults and easy-access 30-minute SOS Sleep sessions.
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