Are Video Baby Monitors Worth the Money?

This post is brought to you by VTech and The Motherhood celebrating the newest VTech Video Baby Monitor. All opinions are my own. 

I still remember the day we registered for baby gear while expecting our first child. It was overwhelming with all of the choices and baby gear I need. I tried to be mindful of not registering for everything, but it was hard. When it came to baby monitors, I had to decide whether to register for a standard one or a video one. Are they worth the extra money? This was over six years ago and I wish I had decided then to register for the video one.

Here’s why. Having a video monitors gives you peace of mind when the babies are infants all the way through even kindergarten and beyond. Today we own two video monitors and excited to test out the new VTech Safe & Sound monitor this month.

3 Favorite reasons why video baby monitors are great for Babies

1. Turn the volume up really loud so you can hear them breathing. If you haven’t had a baby yet, you will be amazed how often you listen to make sure they are breathing. Stressful, but better if you can do it from another room and not risk waking a sleeping baby.
2. Really see if a baby is truly awake, or just a little restless. It’s easier to wait it out if you can see the baby on-screen to better judge if you need to go into the room.
3. They are just so sweet, and quiet, sleeping who wouldn’t want to peek in on them.

3 Favorite reasons why video baby monitors are great for Playrooms

1. You get to hear what really happened amongst siblings.
2. Kids get a little independent play time, while still being supervised.
3. I can cook dinner upstairs while I watch the kids play safely in their playroom together.

The VTech’s Safe&Sound® Pan & Tilt Full Color Video Baby Monitor has been fun to test out. It has 3 of my must have’s in a baby monitor: a wide scanning area, temperature, and intercom. There are lots of other bells and whistles, but those three are key. It’s so easy to use my preschooler can talk on the intercom and change the direction of the camera. (Set up was done in under 5 minutes too!) For families with multiple children, or needing a camera in a playroom, additional cameras can be added to the same parent monitor. Our neighbor has this set-up for her girls and it’s great to find a monitor that can automatically cycle between different cameras.

I recently read Bringing Up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting (now with Bébé Day by Day: 100 Keys to French Parenting). They spoke of “the pause” that french mothers took before immediately rushing in to a fussing baby. A video monitor helps you in that transition of letting a baby start to self soothe himself back to sleep. We had a video monitor for the first time with Connor from the time he was born. It has been great to hear him start to wake up, but hold off going in until I saw him wiggling around. As a toddler, it’s even more helpful as I can tell him “I’ll be right up” to keep him calm as he waits for me. Being the third child, he has been forced to wait for me at times. (most times.) Turns out he is the best sleeper in the house. I do think giving him the time to sometimes go back to sleep mid-nap has been valuable and I would be less apt to wait if I didn’t have the video monitor to gauge his needs.

Twitter Party Time!

What: Whether you’re enjoying your infant’s sweet little smiles or admiring your toddler’s growing independence, we know you never want to miss a moment with your children. Thankfully, VTech’s Safe&Sound® Pan & Tilt Full Color Video Baby Monitor has you covered. With features like remote pan, tilt and zoom to scan your child’s room, automatic night vision and digital transmission that’s private and secure, you can be sure you know exactly what’s happening with your little one during naptime or playtime! Join me for a Twitter party to learn more about this amazing product and to chat about general baby and child safety tips! 

When: Wednesday, February 18 at 1 p.m. ET

Where: We’ll be on Twitter – follow the #VTechBaby hashtag to track the conversation. You can see the details and RSVP via this Vite: http://vite.io/themotherhood 

Hashtag: #VTechBaby

Prizes: During the party, we will be giving away five nursery safety baskets featuring VTech Safe&Sound® Pan & Tilt Full Color Video Baby Monitors to randomly selected participants who answer the trivia questions correctly. Prizes limited to U.S. participants only. 

Hosts: @TheMotherhood, @TMChatHost, @CooperMunroe, @EmilyMcKhann

Tell me what you think? Are video baby monitors worth the higher cost? Do you wish you had them when your kids were little?