As I write this post, I’ve got one eye on my computer monitor & the other watching my baby girl sleep. I’m taking care of my child & getting work done: I’m a superhero.
*cue eye roll*
Nope, I’m just a regular parent trying to keep my life on track while learning to become a parent, a father, a dad.
As a new parent, you face a ton of challenges and responsibilities. The last thing you want to have to worry about is keeping your child warm (or cool) day and night.
Smart Home technology can help.
Smart Nursery technology can monitor the temperature, control the lights & play lullabies – all with just the click of a button. (or the power of your voice).
What is smart nursery technology?
Smart nursery tech is a subset of smart home technology (sometimes called The Internet of things.). Smart Nursery technology is great to help make life (slightly) easier as a new parent.
This technology is connected to your home network & has smarts (a built-in computer of sorts) to help you.
Smart nursery tech can monitor the temperature and humidity, keep an eye on your baby’s movements, control the lights in their room, close the blinds & play lullabies for them.
Some smart nursery technology connects to your phone so you can see what’s going on from anywhere in your home or world.
Like all smart home products, smart nursery tech is getting cheaper all the time. You can get started with a few lights or sensors under $20 and add more over time as needed or as your budget allows.
Where do I start? The one everyone wants to know about.
Smart Baby Monitors
A smart baby monitor is an electronic device that tracks and monitors your child’s activity. The monitor usually has a camera that live streams video from the device to you.
This allows you to keep a watchful eye on your little one from another floor, while at work, or anywhere in the world. Smart baby monitors are easy to set up and use, have night vision and some can even alert you when the sound levels change in their room or if they’re crying or talking in their sleep.
There are many different types of smart baby monitors on the market today, so finding one that suits all your needs should be easy!
The Smart Baby Monitor – Our Choice
When we were researching our first baby monitor (we now have two), we narrowed it down to two: Cubo AI Smart Baby Monitor and the Nanit Pro Camera.
Ultimately we came to the conclusion that we’d be happy with either one, but we choose Cubo AI in the end.
Why?
- we’d read that some people had issues with the red light from the Nanit’s night vision.
- Cubo Ai’s plentiful mounting options.
- The rollover & face covered detection functionality provided by Cubo.
The Budget Option for your Smart Nursery
Do you really need to spend this much? Nope. There are much cheaper options which may suit you perfectly. This is exactly what we did for our 2nd smart baby monitor.
We needed a 2nd monitor & didn’t want to spend big again. So we bought a cheap smart camera, which integrated with Amazon’s Alexa devices. This allows us to bring the camera up on our phones & on any of the Alexa devices we have around our home.
This option doesn’t have all of the special baby-specific features; but, it does the camera part perfectly.
A Smart Assistant for your Smart Nursery
Smart Assistants are the heart of the modern smart home. They are also a new parent’s best friend. Why?
As a new parent, your hands will be full. Often literally. This is when a smart speaker’s voice control comes in to save the day.
Without taking your hands off your baby, you can control every smart device in your home.
- Alexa, lights on – takes care of the lights
- Hey Google, nap time – closes the blinds, turns on the fan & starts playing lullabies
- Alexa, show me the baby monitor – and the video stream pops up on the screen.
There’s no need for specialised white noise machines, your smart speaker can take care of that too.
For more on how smart speakers can help control your smart devices click here.
What else can a Smart Home Assistant Contol?
Start with a Smart Plug
A smart plug is a great way to get started with Smart Nursery technology. A smart plug gives you the ability to control any device that plugs into an outlet, wirelessly from your phone. You can use a smart plug for lamps, fans, humidifiers; most anything else you might have plugged in. They are available at pretty much any electronics store, Kmart, as well as Amazon.
Where to next?
The list is almost endless & limited only by your imagination. Here are some examples of what you can add to your smart connected nursery.
- Smart lighting
- Smart air conditioning
- Automate with Smart Routines
- Clean up with a Smart Robot Vacuum
- Smart Blinds & Curtains
This article is a great place to start if you want to find out more about Smart Technology for your nursery. If it’s left you wanting more, you can also read my reviews on the best smart home technology & other forms of connected technology available in Australia.
If you’re ready to dive off the smart deep end?
Check out my Ultimate Guide to Smart Home Tech