What Are the Different Types of Baby Monitors?

Baby monitors are a great investment to give that extra reassurance that a baby is safe while sleeping at night. There are many different baby monitors on the market. They can vary between those intended to monitor breathing, while others are more effective at detecting cries and other sounds.

Here is an overview of the different types:

Sound monitor – this type of monitor is designed to broadcast any noises the baby makes. It relies on a radio transmitter to pass the baby cries, or other sounds to the receiver which is kept close to the parents. This makes it really easy to respond to any noise when the baby wakes.

Video monitor – this is an improvement on the standalone sound monitor and gives the option to clearly see the baby on a small screen while the baby sleeps. If the baby does make a noise it is possible to check the display to see if there is a proper need to visit the nursery, or the baby was simply making noises in their sleep.

Smart phone app – these are one of the latest options to monitor a baby’s sleep. They are built to detect noise and will send an alert to the phone if the baby wakes. Plus, there are also apps that can be combined with a video camera to give the visual aspect.

Breathing monitor – most of the baby monitors built to detect breathing include a special mat that is positioned under the baby, and has the ability to recognize the breaths. Alternatively, other monitors of this type are clip-on and designed to detect the movement of the stomach with each breath.

What are the benefits?

There are several benefits that come from using the baby monitors, including:

The parents or babysitter is given greater flexibility to monitor the baby, and can even do this when quite a distance from the nursery.

In certain situations when a baby is ill, it may be necessary to monitor the breathing, and this is much easier when a special mat or alarm is in place. This also applies to babies suffering from sleep apnea.

In addition to the benefits, there are also a few downsides. A common criticism is that parents start to get more anxious when constantly checking a monitor. This is certain to cause stress if the breathing monitor keeps emitting the false alarms. Also, this can mean parents lose sleep and likely to be more tired in the mornings.