Keeping in touch with baby
Categories: Money & Work, Gadgets & Tech
Philips, in Europe, anyway, seems to think it's okay to wander off while your little one naps -- so long as you're reachable by phone. Their dial-up baby monitor will call you on the telephone if your baby starts crying. I guess this would be pretty handy if you wanted to nip off to the local pub for a quick pint or two. Once the monitor calls you, you can use your celphone to talk to your child -- or child protective services, depending on how long it takes to get through to you (did I mention it will redial until it reaches you?). I'm not sure who thought this up or what they were thinking (if, indeed, they were thinking at all), but it just doesn't seem like a good idea to me.
On the other hand, something we found extremely handy when Jared was born was a set of FRS radios. At the time, I was working from home a lot and my office is tucked way up under the roof, a short flight of stairs up from the attic. If my wife was downstairs on the main floor of our split-level home, there was no way I could hear her if she needed help. With my bad hearing, I had trouble even if she was on the level with the bedrooms. The FRS radios (modern day equivalents of walkie-talkies) let us keep in touch. More recently, while we were on holiday in Calistoga, I went over to the local coffee shop to get internet access early in the morning and at nap time; the same radios allowed Rachel to let me know when the kids woke up over at the hotel. They're also extremely handy in malls and such when we want to split up but still be able to find each other. We recently picked up a couple pairs of cheap ($5/pair) radios for the kids to use; I can definitely see giving one to Jared to keep in touch when we're playing in a big field or play area.
To sum up, the dial-up baby monitor seems silly at best and downright irresponsible at worst, but FRS radios are pretty handy to have, in a lot of situations. What other gear works or doesn't work for you?
via Thingamababy
On the other hand, something we found extremely handy when Jared was born was a set of FRS radios. At the time, I was working from home a lot and my office is tucked way up under the roof, a short flight of stairs up from the attic. If my wife was downstairs on the main floor of our split-level home, there was no way I could hear her if she needed help. With my bad hearing, I had trouble even if she was on the level with the bedrooms. The FRS radios (modern day equivalents of walkie-talkies) let us keep in touch. More recently, while we were on holiday in Calistoga, I went over to the local coffee shop to get internet access early in the morning and at nap time; the same radios allowed Rachel to let me know when the kids woke up over at the hotel. They're also extremely handy in malls and such when we want to split up but still be able to find each other. We recently picked up a couple pairs of cheap ($5/pair) radios for the kids to use; I can definitely see giving one to Jared to keep in touch when we're playing in a big field or play area.
To sum up, the dial-up baby monitor seems silly at best and downright irresponsible at worst, but FRS radios are pretty handy to have, in a lot of situations. What other gear works or doesn't work for you?
via Thingamababy
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Chris 6-27-2006 @ 5:45PM
walkie talkies are great on car trips if you are taking more than one car (multiple families driving together). You can let them know if you need to pull over to the rest area or if anyone is hungry). We find tons of uses on vacation where cell phones have no signal!
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ann adams 6-27-2006 @ 6:09PM
Wander off to where Roger?
I hope I've seen the last of infants except for an occasional night of babysitting but I still like to be reachable. We have two bell and whistle free cell phones. Mine is used for everything and my husband's goes where the girls go.
They're old enough this year to do a few things by themselves but I want them to be able to reach me.
We had a sleep apnea monitor when Rebecca came home from the hospital for the second time (after a near fatal bout with RSV) but it was dangerous. It beeped every 30 seconds or so. We couldn't assume anything so we'd make sure she was breathing by waking her up. We finally disconnected it and took shifts just watching her until she was out of danger.
Which has nothing to do with your post. I just got to thinking about too much dependence on gadgets.
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Marcia 6-27-2006 @ 6:54PM
I really hope no one buys that baby monitor! That's so sad that people might consider leaving a child alone like that. What happens if baby chokes? Or gets electricuted? The child may not be able to cry to set off the monitor.
We use the motorola walkie talkies a good bit. We take them on car trips where multiple cars are used or camping or even if someone is just going for a walk close to home in case they need someone to come to them.
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suburban misfit 6-27-2006 @ 7:12PM
Remember that things in Europe sometimes are quite different than here. When we lived in Germany, our house was a duplex with the laundry facility and the large food freezer in the basement. If I had to run down and change a load of laundry, I certainly wasn't going to wake my sleeping toddler. It's not always possible to time the laundry to a child's schedule, either. What happens when an unexpected flu pops up and you have to wash every single bedding item while your kiddo naps?
I seriously doubt that Phillips is condoning extended time away from a small child.
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Uly 6-27-2006 @ 7:54PM
Oooh - can you imagine the possibilities, though? You could set this thing up to listen for when your spouse got home (say, you were out with the kids), so you could call him/her and say "Yes, honey, I know you're home...."
Or you could chat with the burglar breaking into your home, give them a scare....
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Laura Snow 6-28-2006 @ 5:42AM
Uly you cracked me up!
As for the monitor...
this is what the website says:
"Give yourself more freedom to move in and around the house and garden with the reassuring Dial-up monitor. The Dial-up monitor is a Baby Monitor, with the extra functionality of being connected to your phone when the baby is crying. "
So this is not condoning leaving your HOME but some people have a large house or grounds. It simply means you can go outside and wash the car or tend to your garden or go to the mailbox down the cul de sac (yes I'm jealous if you have one).
I found this article on blogging baby a tad unfair. Philips is not marketing this as a 'let's leave home' monitor.
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meg 6-28-2006 @ 12:20PM
I live in an apartment building, on the 3rd floor and the laundry room is in the basement. And yes, I've left the baby asleep in his crib while I threw in a load. Its nerve wracking and this device would have made me feel better. When 24 apartments share 3 washers and 2 dryers, you have to make do where you can.
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Heather 6-30-2006 @ 1:34AM
Vacation.
When our son is asleep, we often find ourselves huddled in the bathroom or a darkened closet when the swimming pool deck chairs are just out of range of the monitor. I'd like a little extra ooomph to my monitor.
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Ron 7-31-2006 @ 2:22AM
Interestingly, while this Philips product only talks about using it during quick trips to the neighbors, this one actively promotes taking it on vacation and leaving it in the hotel room so the parents can go and eat in a restaurant. http://www.bebetel.co.uk/, with a list of hotels that provide them for the guests (and glowing press reviews and testimonials.) Some friends of mine in Germany have the Philips product, and use it to pop over to the pub across the street. As they point out, they can make it back to the baby's room within a few minutes, and many parents don't immediately respond to a cry on a baby monitor in any event. Assuming one doesn't go too far away it seems reasonably safe, probably safer than taking the baby in a car trip across town where a car crash is always a possibility.
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