It’s normal and natural to worry about your baby at night, especially if you're a brand new parent and every pause in breathing or unusual noise can be terrifying. Luckily, this is why baby monitors exist, to give you peace of mind that everything is as it should be and alert you to any issues. Baby monitors come in a lot of shapes and forms, but most are in the form of devices that let you listen to your baby wherever you are in the home.

You place one part in the baby’s room and the other where you are, or you can carry one round with you. Any crying or unusual noises, and you'll be alerted right away. You can even get temperature monitors, movement sensors and talk-back devices. However, more parents than ever before are starting to make use of different kinds of baby monitors which allow them to see as well as hear their tot.

Saving time and stress with video monitoring

Video cameras can help you to keep an even closer eye on your baby as he or she sleeps, while you get on with your day. When connected to a monitor, or even via remote access on your smartphone, tablet, laptop or TV, a camera will show you live, real-time footage of the baby’s room, which you can take a glance at whenever you feel you need to check on your little one.

This means no more running up and down the stairs, which can be very tiring as well as potentially waking your baby up if you step on a creaky floorboard or trip over a pile of toys on your way. Using a camera, you can easily see:

  • How your baby is sleeping and what their breathing is like
  • If there is a change in sleeping position that you’ll need to adjust
  • If your baby hasn’t moved in a while and you'll need to pop up and check on them

Many parents also report that monitoring through video, rather than audio alone, makes them feel far more connected to their baby. It can be very hard to leave your young child alone in a room while they sleep, even though you know that it’s an important step and is crucial for their development. This is in addition to the peace of mind you enjoy from being able to check on your baby simply by flicking on the video feed on your tablet screen - he or she will get more sleep, and you may even find some spare time for yourself!

You can, of course, find many video monitoring systems on the market that are specially designed for keeping an eye on babies as they sleep. However, some families find that ordinary indoor and Wi-Fi surveillance cameras can do the job just as well, and can actually be more reliable and produce better quality footage due to being more technologically advanced.

Image credit: Wiki Commons