So, I know it probably sounds pedantic, but I have a real problem with the people who design baby monitors.
Have they never heard of testing, or user experience, or actually making a product do what it is designed to do?
Apparently not...
I am on my 3rd baby monitor or baby alarm since my baby was born 8 months ago. This is just ridiculous but true. Why is it impossible to find a monitor that actually monitors the baby, isn't covered in lights at both ends and doesn't break after 8 weeks!?!? I could honestly design a much better baby monitor than any of the ones I have seen on the market. It drives me up the parenting wall that no one puts enough thought into these important, and expensive products!
I didn't want to buy 3 baby alarms, I had to. They weren't cheap and I resent that it is impossible to find the perfect baby monitor. Parents deserve good product user experiences too - I bet Apple or Bang and Olufsen could get it right... or could they - there's a challenge for you great designers...
So here is why I had to buy 3 monitors (and I am still not happy with this one), we will work through them in chronological order:
1.
Phillips DECT Baby Monitor £100
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| Phillips DECT Baby Monitor £100 |
- Humidity and temperature sensor
- ECO mode
- Adjustable sound sensitivity
- Out of range/low power signals
- Lullabies and night light
- LEDs light to signal noise
- Superior operating time
- Two way communication
- DECT software gives crystal clear sound and a private connection
- Rechargeable wireless parent unit
While this is a perfectly sweet list of features, it fails to recognise one, somewhat key, element of a baby monitor.
I want to be able to actually HEAR my baby!
Even with the volume on the parent unit turned up to full blast, the sound that actually came out was little above a whisper. That is fine during a dinner party, but when it is on charge, halfway across the living room, it makes the whole unit pretty pointless. Yes, there are lights on the top that would light up when he made a noise, but this meant I basically had to sit and stare at the parent unit for the whole evening. If I wanted to sit and stare at something, I would sit and stare at my son, not a monitor. It made me totally paranoid that I would miss him crying after it happened a couple of times when by the time he was crying loud enough for the sound to make it across the sofa, he had got really really upset.
Other issues with it included a green light that always stayed on, on the baby side of the monitor which my son would stare at (he loves lights!) and therefore not fall asleep (I had to stick a small black sticker over that) and the rechargeable battery in the parent unit, which started to disconnect itself randomly after about 3 months - it was fully charged and the screen would just go blank (with no warning, so you wouldn't realise for 10 minutes it had turned itself off...).
All in all, it seemed perfect when I bought it, but if I could have tested it in the shop, and realised the baby would have to bellow like a lion for me to hear him through it, I would never have bought it!
So onto number 2:
2.
Tomy Digital Plus TD350 Monitor £85
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| Tomy Digital Plus TD350 Monitor |
Flexible monitoring: 120 channels & 350m range
Low battery and out of range alarm for extra reassurance
Richer sound docking station for easy charging and even better sound
Sound level light display to stay alert to baby’s needs even with the volume off
Sound activation mode; ideal for when your baby is that little older and it’s not necessary to hear her every sound
Two way talkback so parents can reassure baby from afar
DECT technology guarantees interference free with crystal clear sound and 100% privacy
Parent and baby unit LCD temperature display so parents can see and monitor the temperature wherever they are without having to disturb baby
Timer to help keep track of time between feeds, sleeps and medication
Vibration mode which is ideal for noisy environments and to aid the hard of hearing
A multicoloured nightlight
to check on baby without switching on the main light which can be
customised to coordinate with the nursery and used as an independent
nightlight without the monitor
A belt clip for day to day hands free convenience
A pager to help locate the parent unit if misplaced.
When I bought this, I thought Tomy was such a well respected brand for baby monitors, that I couldn't go wrong. Unfortunately, I spoke too soon.
Firstly, the base unit in the babies room had a huge illuminated green power switch on it that lit up half of his room and woke him up if he stirred so I had to drape a dark cloth over it every night which muffled the sound somewhat. Secondly, despite never having spilt water on it, after about 10 weeks, the parent unit connections to the docking station started rusting. Rusting! So then it wouldn't sit in the charger cleanly or charge properly.
On the plus side, it was very clear sound and I liked the fact that I could attach the child base to the outside of the cot bars. But it is now in a bin, because the charging parts finally failed and there is no point to a monitor with no parent unit.
And our current model, monitor number 3!
3.
Binatone Motorola MBP36 Digital Video Monitor £160 at Argos
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| Motorola MBP36 Digital Video Monitor |
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2.4GHz FHSS wireless technology
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Data encryption for security
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3.5” Large Colour LCD screen
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Up to 25 FPS
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Infrared night vision
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Pan, tilt and zoom remotely
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Room temperature monitor
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Five polyphonic lullabies
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Five LED alerts for noise level
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200M range with “out-of-range” warning
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High sensitivity microphone
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Two-way communication
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Rechargeable battery (Parent Unit)
I will say that the video function is so far AWESOME! and the night vision really does actually live up to billing which is pretty impressive. The remote camera operation is cool as you don't have to keep going in and moving the camera when little one's roll about in the cot and keep disturbing them.
However, as I have learnt to my cost, there are some flaws with this monitor too. There is a green light on the front of the baby unit that can distract babies in the dark. Also, the 2 way communication function on the units doesn't seem to actually come out very loud in the baby's room - it sounds like a whisper even when talking quite loudly. The battery can also run out quite quickly if you keep the video screen switched on (although it does turn the video screen off automatically after 5 minutes if you leave it on, in order to conserve power). Finally, and my biggest personal bugbear about it - the permanent lights on the parent unit... The blue ON light and green connect light... During the evening in a normal room, not a problem at all. The big problem is that now our baby is bigger, he sleeps in his own room, but we have the parent unit in our room so I can just keep an ear on him. The lights are like search lamps!! They are so bloody bright that you can discern the glow with your eyes closed and this, quite frankly, drives me up the wall.
My perfect monitor doesn't exist yet, there are apps for iphones and
ipads but they are still a bit clunky. What I really want is an iMonitor
(fictional obviously) designed by
Apple, with remote controlled night
vision video, no permanently on lights at either end, that can be safely
attached to the top of a cot without any dangers of babies chewing
wires, remote log in access from ipads or iphones so I can see him when
he is staying at my parents (I miss him)
as well as all the other bells and whistles that usually come with the monitors these days.
We have now spent nearly £300 on monitors, just to have the batteries disconnect, parts go rusty or to keep me awake all night with annoying lights. It is very frustrating, so if any brands ever bother reading this, turn the lights out before you leave!!
