Life

The New Toddlermonitor Is A Genius Way To Stop Tiny Escape Artists In Their Tracks

by Cat Bowen

When my son was a toddler, he would escape his room on silent feet, sneak in my husband's and my bedroom, and proceed to stare at us in our sleep until we awoke screaming. It was some seriously Rosemary's Baby level scare action: Just big brown eyes staring at me from the foot of my bed in the middle of the night. (Shudder.) If only I had the new toddlermonitor, a monitor that sends an alert to your phone when the door to your child's bedroom opens, I could have avoided the screaming.

You'd think that once your child sleeps through the night, and doesn't need your constant care at 3 a.m., that your need for a monitor would be eliminated. Au contraire, my friend. The needs simply shift. Sure, you don't need a camera pointed at their bed any longer, nor do you really want one, but there are times when a monitor (like one that alerts you when your child leaves the bedroom) becomes really handy.

Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. Picture it: There's soft ambient lighting all around you. You and your partner have shared a few alcoholic beverages, and you're really excited about what's to come. You would absolutely hate being interrupted at that moment... as you're wrapping the presents "For Santa" and having all that nog. Plus, you don't want your kid to hear you swearing at your partner because they were the one who was supposed to get the dang batteries, and guess what you don't have? Yeah, the weird C batteries that seemingly every Christmas gift requires, but that no other thing on planet earth uses. This new toddlermonitor would give you enough time to cover up the evidence while you glare at your partner.

The makers of toddlermonitor noticed the same problem, and went about trying to fix it. This is like a home security system, but for your kids' bedroom. Inside the monitor is a motion detector that sends an alert to an app on your phone that will ping you when your child opens their door. The alert is one of your choosing; so it could vibrate, or send an alarm from your phone that you choose at the volume of your choosing. This is key for parents like me who might be hard of hearing or deaf. I would need either lights or vibration to tell me when my child escapes. Otherwise, I'd miss it and get the whole "Children of the Corn at the end of my bed" treatment.

The toddlermonitor takes moments to set up, and you have the ability to pair multiple room alarms on one app. Great for larger families, or for kids who might end up napping in one room and sleeping in another.

Honestly, I'm tempted to set this up on my own bedroom so that I know if my husband is going to come out and catch me eating the last piece of rhubarb pie without sharing any with him, and then potentially blaming it on the children or the dog. It seems like a strong investment for many potential purposes.

The origin story of this monitor is slightly less cheerful. The makers of toddlermonitor awoke one night only to realize that their child had escaped from their house, undetected. (But retrieved safely.) As the sister of a sleepwalker, I can understand how absolutely terrifying that such a scenario would be. Children are curious creatures, and don't have the greatest instincts when it comes to self-preservation. Having a monitor like this would give everyone in the house a sense of safety they might not otherwise have.

Retailing for $90, it's not a scant amount of cash you're shelling out for the door monitor, but it's also nowhere near as pricey as the video monitors that many of us purchase for our children. Put this on your baby registry so that you're ready in advance, and have the peace of mind... and the protected privacy that this offers.