Digital Baby Monitor : Are They Good Choice?

The digital baby monitor is a marvelous invention that allows parents to keep tabs on their crib-side baby, while watching TV, cooking, gardening, finishing chores or simply relaxing. The drawback of the old analog baby monitors is that they are often prone to interference from household appliances, the neighbors' baby monitors, microwaves, radio signals and ambient traffic noise. In some cases, the neighbors may even hear your baby's frequency! In areas that aren't densely populated, an analog monitoring system may work just fine, but for everyone else, digital baby monitors are the way to go.

There are many good, digital infant monitors from which to choose. The Philips DECT baby monitor gets the highest reviews for sound clarity and offers special features, like parent-to-baby intercom functionality, alert lights, room temperature gauges, a night-light and soothing lullabies. The Summer Infant baby monitor offers video, night-vision, sound-alert lights and zoom and pan functionality. The Secure Sounds infant monitor Summer brand has also received positive reviews for limited interference and its stylish, contemporary design. The new Digitally Fresh digital baby monitor comes with a 1.5-inch color LCD baby monitor screen, a walkie-talkie/receiver and a security camera. The Graco baby monitor, called the "iMonitor," has multi-child monitoring features, an estimated 2,000-ft range, night vision and zoom. Mobi sells systems with unlimited receivers, wide camera angles, zoom, voice-activated video transmission and high-resolution screens. These high-end models run between $100 and $200.

Parents who are very concerned about security should consider a digital baby monitor, rather than analog. It's possible that neighbors who are also using the same baby monitor system will be able to hear your infant's coos and cries. It's not that your baby is likely to be endangered by this, but that sort of invasiveness is creepy and disconcerting to a number of people. Secondly, you should consider a digital baby monitor if you live in a busy neighborhood where a lot is going on. Cordless phones, TV signals, wireless internet signals, radio broadcasts, microwaves and even passing traffic can all cause exorbitant amounts of static to come through your monitor, which will make the whole system more trouble than it's worth.

You can certainly pay a lot for your digital baby monitor, so you'll need to spend a little time considering which features you absolutely need and which you can live without. Most people just want a basic, baby monitoring system that provides clear reception, has mobile handsets and picks up the sounds of the baby. Once you've had a basic system for a while, you may decide you'd like some special features, such as multiple handsets, talk-back/intercom functionality or lights-only mode. If you're a paranoid parent, then you may need to know the temperature and humidity levels of the baby's room or when your baby is moving around. You may even decide that actually seeing what your baby is up to on video monitors can be part of the joys of parenthood.