All about monitors

Short of checking on your baby every five minutes, the only way to be reassured that they are safe and sound is by using a nursery monitor. They provide you with the freedom to work or relax in another part of the house, and you can even get portable ones that let you get outside in the garden.

If you want to be able to listen in from outside you'll need a portable monitor. Those with nightlights are useful if you want to have a quick look at your baby while they are sleeping.

Watching over them
However, monitors are not a substitute for parental supervision and they cannot prevent cot death. Even movement monitors, which have a sensor mat that you place under your baby's mattress, cannot give total peace of mind. They sound an alarm if your child doesn't move for 20 seconds, but there are circumstances when your child could stop breathing but still be moving: if he is choking, for example. So never rely on a monitor to prevent cot death.

Remember that you should never plug a mains adaptor into an extension lead to use outside. It may be exposed to the damp, which can be very dangerous. Keep wires away from baby, too: if you attach a monitor to a cot make sure you use a proper portable one.

Most monitors have two channels, so you can switch channels if there is interference from another monitor. Sometimes other appliances can cause interference as well. Some monitors transmit interference directly, so you may find yourself listening in to your neighbors'. Others are designed to transmit the sounds from your baby's nursery only. However, radio waves are public and with any of these monitors somebody could tune in and listen to what you're saying, so be careful what you say about 'that woman next door'!