TheManOnTheStreet

Looking for a baby monitor. Has to be digital (ie, non-listenable on domestic radios like the old analogue ones).

What is the best one? Gadgety features seem to be nightlights, temperature displays, talkback, lullabys, etc.

What does everyone use?

Walwal

Can't help you on a brand name (ours is a bog standard Tomy), but I'm sick of our lass with ours for Nathan (sorry for invading your post but I've got to get this off my chest).

He's now nearly 2 and a half and she still has the monitor on every night. A mate of mine gave his up when his kid was about 20 months. No matter how many times I tell her to wrap it up, she takes no notice.

I've told her that he'll be 18 and taking girlfriends up into his room and she'll still have the monitor on the go (I won't mind then, a nice bit of listening in)

I think up to 18-24 months, fine, then after that, put it in the cupboard for the next one. She disagrees even though his room is right next to ours, so you can hear him twisting on in his sleep anyway.

Sorry to invade your post TMOTS.

Andy.

Tiggs

we've had 3 kids and 3 different monitors....and simple is best.

night light- what a dumb idea. dont set your kids up to need one. they spent 9 months in the dark and it never bothered them. kids asking for "can you leave a light on" only do it because they have been taught to want it.

temp- if your house has radiators and windows then you shouldnt need it, work out for yourself what temp the room is with common sense.

talk back- its a baby, it doesnt understand you!

Non move mats- if the baby stops moving it beeps. except the baby will offten role off it and it will beep at 3am causing you and wife to have a heart attack (every 4th night!)

we have had ALL the above features and only value the sound....if we are downstairs its nice to know when he starts crying.

T

ps- ours is now 9 months and hasnt used a monitor for a while, only bothered in the early months


pps- our first = cry.....rush to deal with. RESULT didnt sleep through the night till she was 4!!!!

our second = cry......leave him for 10 mins then deal with. RESULT was sleeping through the night within months.

our third = cry.......leave for ages, no screamin nut case will tell me what to do! RESULT goes to bed and doesnt wake up till morning, if he does he doesnt cry- because why would he? he know it gets no response. (just before the NSPCC dive in.......at a few months old he cried in the night and wouldnt stop- something the others would often do, as he never cries we knew he was unwell- took him to the docs and he was very poorly. had it been one of the "cry wolf" kids we would have assumed he was just moaning!)

messiah

we've bought a tomy one that was on offer in boots £60 down to £40 has nightlight, & temp sensor. There's also one that had a board that you put under the sheets that measure the baby's movements although we gave that one a miss 'cos it would probably make us watch the parent unit all the time and give us panic attacks.

Most have too many features, we figured the more complicated - the more readings to worry about.

Drunken Bungle Whore

Don't have one, but a couple of our neighbours did. Their adice would be to check if someone next door has the same one as they can cross over and transmit to each others if you don't set the right wavelength thingumy.

Not so much the baby crying that was the problem, but when they accidentally left them switched on at "other times"

ScoobyDoo555

Yeh - we went out and bought teh most expensive Johnson's InTouch monitor thing. Had sensors everyewhere!!!

Used it once. Been in the box ever since. Didn't use it with our second one either.

Waste of money IMHO. But when you have your first kid, you go into "overdrive"

Common sense prevails on any subsequent children!!!

Dan

jjones

don't bother with usually. but the other day one of the twins had a cold (8 months) so i got the monitor out (basic tomy one) and set it up. tuned into the woman down the road reading a bedtime story. tried the other frequency and it didn't seem to work so i put the monitor back in the cupboard.

Scooby96

I used to have one that detected the breathing / or not breathing. PITA as whenever the kid moved up the pother end of the cot it would go off - 3 or 4 times a night. Not good when you're getting up 2 or 3 times to feed the little blighter as well!

MJW

Any one will do as long as it has a MUTE button ! We use a basic Tomy one with a sort of spectrum analyser so you can see if the young un is awake with it on mute.
Any other gimmicky add-ons like temp/movement sensors are a waste of time IMO.

Tiggs' method for dealing with a crying baby is also correct (I think its called the 'controlled crying technique' in medical circles). We used it and it worked. Don't let them dictate to you !

LC Geezer

Yeah, but those breathing/not brething sensors possibly saved our little 'uns life. Ok, so we had quite a few false alarms but it went off one night and when we went in to her room to investigate, she was as blue as the deep blue sea (sea sea). Managed to get het going again just by a bit of gentle shaking but Christ knows what would have happened had we not had the sensor.

Agree 100% about night lights. Don't start them off wanting a light on every night.