Photo by Insung Yoon
A child is wired for learning at birth. Your precious bundle of joy gravitates to toys that bleep and shoes that light up, soaking up every stimulus. Your child may ask you to play a video on the tablet just as a bribe to finish a meal. Let’s face it: kids love gadgets as much as we do. So, it is no wonder technology has trickled into our homes in the form of smart nurseries aimed at connected parents. That same kind of smart solution for parents continues to trend at CES and for a good reason: raising a tiny human is the most important job out there.
Parenting can be challenging, especially for first-time parents, from figuring out feeding schedules to changing diapers to cracking the code on sleep. Nurturing a baby makes life more complicated. However, thanks to some brilliant technological inventions, there are more ways to make parenting a little easier than ever.
Today’s tech-savvy parents expect technology to ease modern child-rearing pains while delivering higher security. Many families already have a smart home security system as part of their everyday. They expect a natural extension of protection and awareness in the nursery. Parents know that a smartphone or a tablet can become a window to track their baby’s every need. So, here we collected some easy tips on using modern tech to build a smarter nursery of your own. With the help of these gizmos and gadgets, you can create a world-class, secure, smart nursery for your child.
Smart Thermostats
To ensure the comfort of your little one, the nursery should maintain an ideal temperature. Install a smart thermostat in the baby’s room that saves energy and keeps the temperature consistent to avoid sleep disturbances and ward off illness. By merely affixing a small, wireless sensor, the home’s smart thermostat can regulate an ideal temperature in the nursery during hot days and chilly nights. Some more advanced devices even offer a feature that monitors the room’s carbon monoxide levels and humidity.
Smart Baby Monitors
Feeling anxious to leave your baby alone in an unmonitored room? Need some reassurance while at the office? Feel like singing a lullaby from an airplane? You’re covered. The undisputed jewel of the modern nursery is the smart baby monitor. Today’s smart monitors assure your child is okay, hanging on your baby’s every breath. Modern monitors can let you see live breathing and heart rate and track sleeping from, well, anywhere. With the help of a smart baby monitor, you can detect crying, restless movement, nursery conditions, and sleep quality. This also translates into better sleep for parents. Numerous models on the market have a wide array of advanced features. HD video, night vision, wireless connectivity, battery-powered socks, custom sleep sounds, contact-free breathing, and advanced security measures are all there to make your life easier. Look for a two-way voice communication feature if you consider yourself a crooner.
While some monitors still have viewers, many stream to your cell phone or tablet. Smart apps track and graph sleeping habits, providing information that can create an ideal sleep environment. Stats can be valuable insights for your pediatrician as well. Most importantly, you’ll never miss a cute
the moment as most apps allow you to snap pictures and save video clips right to your device… and then send them to grandma.
Smart Feeding Solutions
Unlike adults, infants don’t have a routine quite yet. Hunger can strike anytime from midday to the wee hours. It gets hectic to prepare your baby’s meal every few hours. If you invest in a smart feeding system, you have some serious assistance in this category. Amazing products like wireless milk makers and ergonomically designed breast pumps have changed the game recently. If you bottle-feed your child, there are smart devices that concoct the perfect formula for your baby. All you need to do is set the amount, concentration, and temperature from your phone, and the machine will prepare it. Simple as that! It might be the best way to modify the ideal meal for your baby at its size and development.
If breastfeeding, try a cordless breast pump that effortlessly fits right inside your bra. You can easily adjust the suction and ensure you’re on track to create enough milk for your little one. At the high-end spectrum of the market, these pumps work nearly silently.
Smart Diaper Tech
Dirty diapers. Every parent’s unhappy place. This not-so-fun part of parenting is quite important. Timely changing diapers is the key to comfort, gauging digestive health, and keeping the nursery hygienic. Today’s technology has even dared to enter this smelly battleground. Smart wearable diaper humidity sensors track the moisture in your baby’s diaper and send alerts to your phone when it needs changing.
Smart Infant Scales
Gone are the days of carrying a notebook as you weigh your baby. Smart scales use apps to track even tiny weight changes, allowing you to help calculate breastfeeding times. Some double as changing tables and require no contact, just a wave of the arm before you set the baby down.
Smart Hub Extensions
Why stop at just the nursery? A connected screen in the child’s room can display cute photos, answer the baby’s health questions, play relaxing white noise, and even display the lyrics to that lullaby you love to sing but forget. An accompanying hub in the parent’s room can serve as a window to the smart monitor. The gadget also doubles as an alarm clock. In short, a smart hub in any room in the home extends hands-free awareness, instantly acting as a brain center for other smart devices.
As the Internet of Things creates more seamless, helpful integration into your life and daily routine, expect the nursery to also benefit from it. Devices won’t ever take your parenting place, but they sure can give you the ability to concentrate on the important parts of the process.
