Gone are the days when parents tiptoe around the house trying to be quiet so they can listen out for signs of crying or movement from a sleeping baby. Yes, baby monitors now cleverly do the listening ear job for you, wherever you are in the house or garden, and there are even systems that allow you to see your baby too. But what features do baby monitors have and why might you need one?

A baby monitor is a useful device that allows you to listen or now even see your baby when you’re in different areas of the house or garden. The exact nature of systems vary, depending on their design and individual capabilities, but most systems essentially consist of two parts. One part, or unit, is designed to stay in your baby’s room and to pick up and transmit any sounds and the other unit is the part you take with you, so you can listen in and hear what’s going on back in your baby’s room. Sound monitors have existed for a while and are very popular, as they offer a great listening ear service for parents.

But technology has advanced even further, and it’s now possible to purchase video monitors too, so you can actually watch your baby from afar. There are also other specialist types of monitors available too, such as respiration monitors which check your baby’s breathing and movement and sound an alarm if they’re not detected.

When you’re choosing a monitor, it helps to consider how you’ll use it. Monitor units operate either using batteries or through mains electricity. If they’re electric, then there needs to be a plug in close proximity to your baby’s cot, as well as where you’ll be using the other monitor. This may not be practical and limits the ability to carry the monitor around with you from room to room.

Battery monitors, though, are completely portable. Sometimes they come with the option of using mains electricity too, which is a handy back-up if you run out of battery power. Others use rechargeable batteries, so you can easily give them a boost when you need to, without having to keep buying loads of new batteries.

The monitors work through radio waves, so it’s important to ensure you have good reception for them to work effectively. They generally cover distances from 50m up to 400m, but individual products may vary. As well as the key capabilities of the monitors, different products come up with additional features too. For example, some models may have a choice of channels, so you can choose which offers the best reception, some may have a night light on the baby unit, they may have a room temperature indicator (useful for ensuring the room doesn’t get too hot for your baby, as overheating can play a role in sudden infant death syndrome or cot death), and some may have a moving lights display, which means you can mute the sounds, but still spot any changes.

In the case of video-based monitors, they have an image of your baby that comes up on a screen, or even on your TV. Some models aren’t quite so portable, as they may involve lots of cables, but there are some high tech – and more expensive – versions available.

Although previous generations of families survived without using baby monitors, today they can be an extra source of peace of mind when you’re in a different room. They’re especially useful if you’ve got other children to mind at the same time or if the rooms of your house are spread out, as you can keep a portable unit with you at all times. It may not be one of the key pieces of essential equipment you buy, but it may not be far down the list and is well worth browsing the available products to find a version that would work well for you.