Baby Monitors Aren’t Just For Babies

This blog post is brought to you by VTech and The Motherhood. All opinions are my own.

For most new moms a baby monitor is a must have item. I remember setting mine on the nightstand next to me while I slept so I could hear my boys when they woke in the middle of the night and carrying it around with me during the day so I could hear when they woke up from their naps.

As the years have gone on, I’ve discovered that baby monitors aren’t just for babies. They work wonderfully for parents of older children who are starting to engage in independent play or host play-dates with friends and they are useful to check in on older kids without interrupting playtime. They even work for dog and cat moms who want to keep their furry friends away from off-limits areas.

VTech, a brand my family knows and loves, has a whole line of Safe&Sound® baby monitors ranging from compact audio monitors to high-tech video monitors because they know that every family’s needs are different. VTech’s Safe&Sound audio monitors focus on helping parents feel safe and secure. VTech has come out with a new monitor, the VTech Safe&Sound® DM271-110 DECT 6.0 Digital Audio Baby Monitor with Open/Closed & Motion Sensors, with features that give parents peace of mind as their children grow. It’s just the latest addition to VTech’s award-winning monitor line. The VTech Digital Audio Monitor comes equipped with two ULE (Ultra Low Energy) smart home sensors to make taking care of your kids easier than ever before. With the open/closed and motion sensor alerts on doors, cabinets and open spaces, you can know when your child is somewhere off limits, or getting into something they shouldn’t be. The product can be bought for $119.95 on the VTech phones website or Amazon.

Product features:

One of my favorite features this VTech Digital Audio Monitor has is the monitor’s talk-back intercom that let’s me check in with the kids easily. I’ve always wanted an intercom system built in to the home and we don’t have one so this is the next best thing in my opinion. I love that it enables me to give my boys (ages 7 and 8) the freedom they crave while still ensuring they are behaving and not doing anything they shouldn’t be doing.

Here are some of the ways I’m using this talk-back intercom feature in my children’s room:

• To check on them when they are supposed to be picking up their room to see if they really are or if it sounds like they are playing (because there have been so many times I’ve checked in on them an hour later and their room is even messier than it was to begin with).
• To make sure they are actually in bed when it’s bedtime.
• To listen to interactions between siblings when I start hearing whispering or yelling
• To call them for dinner.
• To listen to what they are watching on the television to make sure it’s appropriate.
• To tell them when it’s time to start getting ready to leave the house.

The VTech Digital Audio Monitor also has a night light which the boys, especially Lucas, like. It’s a cool space theme, too! Below is part of what is projected on their ceiling.

The package also comes with open/close sensors and motion sensors which give added piece of mind. We’ve decided to use the open/close sensor on our back porch door since it’s a slider door. Though it has a top lock that the kids can’t reach they do know how to unlock it and could do so if they stood on a chair. Having a child with Autism I can never be too careful and like the extra security the sensor on the door provides. The motion sensor we are putting near the boy’s bedroom door since Lucas likes to sneak out of his room after we’ve put the kids to bed. Numerous times we’ve caught him in our bed watching television when we opened the door to go to bed.

When I first had kids I never thought I’d have a baby monitor once they headed off to preschool, and we actually had gotten rid of our old one, but here I am again with a monitor next to me as I type this. What would you use this “baby” monitor for?