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When it comes to keeping an eye on your babies and kids, every parent will tell you that it’s imperative to have a good baby monitor at home.
These days, the best baby monitors all work through WiFi, allowing you to access live video feeds of your lil peanut from wherever you are — at home or not. The device will not grant you superhuman powers to instantly teleport from the office to your crying kid, but it’ll let you keep an eye on their activity and some might even let you soothe them back to sleep by talking through a speaker (the two-way speakers let you hear them too).
The best baby monitors can also be used to monitor your kids while they’re awake and playing too. Position the monitor in a central part of the room and keep tabs on what they’re doing while they’re reading, watching TV or running around.
The best WiFi baby monitors generally have a few features in common. While many come with their own viewing device, they can basically all be accessed via a smart phone or other device, and can send push notifications that alert you to changes in movement, air temperature, and anything else that might disturb your little one.
What to Look for When Buying a WiFi Baby Monitor
When putting together our list of the best WiFi baby monitors, there are a few things we took into consideration.
Pairing: There’s really no point if the WiFi shorts out every second, so to fully take advantage of the features these monitors provide, you’ll want to have a reliable WiFi connection. Once that is set, we’ve found monitors that are easy to pair with your internet signal, and your devices.
Picture quality:Obviously, you’re going to want to get the best picture possible from your monitor, particularly in the dark. We look for high-quality picture and clear night vision capabilities.
Scope:Does the camera capture the whole room, or at least enough of the area you want to see? Another thing to think about is how flexible and customizable the device is. Can you adjust the tilt of the camera? Does it clamp easily to a crib or dresser?
Smart features: Many higher-tech WiFi baby monitors include an array of helpful smart features. Often they include automatic sensors and alerts that send notifications directly to your phone. We also like monitors that sync to other smart home devices like Alexa or Google Home, so you can control settings using your voice.
Lullabies and Night-lights: Most of these monitors include a variety of programmable lullabies and night-lights, and you might want to check out the selections available. We think the monitors that project the moon and stars on the ceiling are particularly cute, for example.
Sharing:Many parents like that WiFi baby monitors can be shared with family, either for protection purposes or just for fun. Check out how many people a monitor’s feed can be shared with at a time. Some have unlimited sharing, but if you only need to include a few people, this might not even be necessary.
