Smartphone Surveillance | Keep Tabs on Your Bundle of Joy with New Baby Monitoring Technology
The first time you get a full night’s sleep as a new parent, you may have to restrain yourself from jumping out of bed and hurling yourself into the nursery to make sure your child’s still breathing – after all, why hasn’t he woken you up already?! I say “restrain yourself” because the minute you burst open the door…well, he’s awake now, isn’t he? And no one wants to wake a sleeping babe, right?
The most likely reason for your uninterrupted 5-ish hours is that he was sleeping peacefully, all tucked in, just like you left him last night. But how are you supposed to know that without opening the door and actually taking a peek? Back in the day before baby monitors with live video feeds, that was pretty much your only option and you were stuck either checking in (and risk waking a sleeping dragon, I mean, angel) or dealing with the anxiety of not knowing.
This same anxiety was present every time you attempted to become a grown-up again and enjoy a night out with your spouse. No doubt your babysitter fielded more than a couple of your “just checking in” phone calls in between all of those expensive long-distance calls she was making herself (oh yeah, I said we were going back in the day). At the end of it all, the exciting date night felt more like a guessing game than a good time.
Although the natural impulse of parents to watch their children has not changed over the course of time, the technology making baby monitoring easier has developed to the point that parents don’t even need to be in the same room as their child to watch her. Indeed, new hardware that is compatible with smartphone apps gives parents the ability to check in on their children whether they are in the next room or outside of the house entirely.
So let’s check out the new frontier of surrogate smartphone surveillance.
Choosing the Right Audio/Video Monitor
To enjoy the full capabilities of a baby surveillance system, it goes without saying that the camera needs to be compatible with a smartphone app. But there are other functionality concerns that you should consider before making a purchase. Following are three features that will allow you to check in on your baby, alert you if there is movement or sound, and even soothe your baby from beyond the nursery:
- Night vision: It is no secret that sleep comes best in the dark, so night vision is a key feature for viewing your baby in a dark room. Some cameras come with dark-detecting technology that will turn on the night vision without disturbing the sleeping baby.
- Custom alerts: Today’s cameras will send signals to your smartphone to let you know when the baby makes a sound, moves, or if there is an issue with the connection to the monitor. Users can choose from email or text alerts, which can come accompanied with a vibration from the smartphone.
- Sound effects: Some monitors not only give you the ability to view your baby while they sleep, but can play them pre-programmed lullabies or even allow you to talk to them through your smartphone. These are features that will allow you to soothe even the most restless sleeper.
The three above features are standard (with varying levels of interactivity) in most baby monitoring devices out on the market today.
Installing the Monitor
Once you have selected and purchased the monitor that meets your needs and is accessible via a smartphone app, you will need to install it. Depending on the model you choose, you may need to hook your camera to your modem for configuration, or it may be entirely Wi-Fi accessible. Follow your individual monitor’s instructions to connect the camera to the network before mounting the camera. Then, follow these steps for the physical installation:
- Find a place on the wall that gives the best view of your baby’s crib. Corners often provide the widest angle view. Make sure to mount the camera high on the wall to prevent your baby from reaching it. Additionally, the power cord to the camera should be out of the reach of the child.
- Using a pencil, mark the location of the screws that will hold the camera in place. Use a ruler to make sure that they are even.
- Drill screw holes in the locations that you have identified. Then, with the camera and base assembled, aligning the base and the freshly drilled holes and screw it securely to the wall.
- Wipe away any dirt and dust.
- Turn on the monitor and relax.
Baby Steps: The Near Future of Baby Monitoring Surveillance
Despite how far we have come, traditional monitoring systems have one major flaw: they only extend as far as your Wi-Fi range. This means you are limited in how far away you can be at any given time from your baby and still monitor her. For those who are looking for an extended tether, there are apps for that.
The next frontier of baby surveillance appears to be using your smartphone itself as the monitor. Apps like Android’s Baby Monitor turn your smartphone itself into an alarm that alerts or calls you when baby cries (with customizable sensitivity if baby is a restless sleeper or soft crier). Of course, this requires that you have another phone (or land line) in your possession while your smartphone pulls nursery duty but the beauty of systems like this is the virtually unlimited range you experience. As long as your phone is charged (the app alerts you when your battery life is dwindling!), you can check in from anywhere.
Being a new parent is tough, and ensuring the safety of your child in those early days can make for stressful experiences. Although nothing compares to actually being there, choosing a baby surveillance system with advanced features, including smartphone connectivity, can give parents some much needed peace of mind no matter their physical location.
Have you found a baby monitoring system that you just can’t live without? What are some of the ways your life changed once you let technology shoulder some of the child-watching responsibility?
This is a guest post by Jay Harris a Home Depot “on the floor” sales associate and a regular contributor to Home Depot’s blog. His interests include home automation and solar panels.
