A safety monitor is an important part of any new-family household safety kit. However, with the all the gadgets available on the market – flashy video cameras, motion monitors etc – it can be easy to spend a lot of money when really you just need a reliable listening monitor to keep you in touch with your baby when you are not in the room with him.
You can spend over £150 or as little as £20, but in the mid-price range, we love the new LeapFrog cordless monitor…
LeapFrog Advanced Digital Baby Monitor, £69.99
One of the major draws for the new Advanced monitor is that it can communicate within a range of 600 metres. Until now, most monitors had a range of 100 metres – some could work further away. Ideally of course, you would not leave your baby anywhere as far away as 600 metres for any length of time, but this could be useful if you are in your garden for a short period whilst your baby is safely in his cot indoors.
Other great features of this monitor include its digital format (DECT) which means there is no interference, the sound is clear and it can't be tuned into by a third party. Plus the monitor can operate with one or two parent units at the same time.
LeapFrog Advanced Digital Baby Monitor - an array of great features
As well as a range of 600 metres, the monitor's parent unit has an alert to let you know if you have strayed too far from the baby monitor. This way you know that you are always safely within communicating distance from your baby. It will also alert you if the battery is low.
Other great features include the 'Find parent unit' function which means you can locate the (rechargeable) parent remote when you can't remember where you put it down. Also, there is a parent talkback facility so that you can speak either to your baby in soothing tones or to another person when they are in the nursery with your baby.
Many monitors have little extras such as a lullaby function or a night light, and this one has the lot! The monitor will show the room's temperature, it has a nightlight which can be controlled from the parent unit, a digital clock, five lullaby options and a multi-language function.
The temperature monitor will alert you if your baby's room is above or below a suitable level of warmth, and you can also set an alert to go off when a next feed is due.
Less important details, which are nice all the same, include a travel bag and a torch on the parent unit so you don't need to switch on a light when you peep in to check on your baby in person.
Of course the sound read-out is easy to follow and has a visual display as well as an audio feed.
The LeapFrog Advanced is an easy to use and really thoughtful device. All its functions are really easy to get used to so you're not paying for functionality you'll never need. Plus it's light to carry about, and all its little extras like the alerts and feed timer can really help in those early days of sleep-deprived parenthood!
This is a great baby shower gift.
