Movement sensors: Some monitors, generally on the more expensive end of the spectrum, come with a movement sensor that can be slipped under your baby’s mattress. This will detect your little one’s breathing and will sound an alarm if no movement is detected after a given period of time. It can be great for extra peace of mind, particularly with newborns. How do video baby monitors work? To pair, press and hold the pairing button on the base of the camera while switching on the camera unit (a long press of the power button) until the transmit indicator starts flashing.

Leave to charge for 4 hours or until the red light indicator turns off. Note: The battery life of the movement sensor mat lasts up to 90 days. Parent tester Catherine tested the Tommee Tippee Dreamee set with her baby, using the monitor and motion sensor for daytime naps and nighttime periods of sleep. She set up everything herself to give us a complete experience with this baby monitor. The built-in room thermometer is great for peace of mind during peak hot and cold seasons and can reduce the need for a stand-alone nursery thermometer. It’s worth noting however that this rounds up to the nearest whole degree; so not as specific as some stand-alone thermometers. Is the Tommee Tippee Dreamee safe? While the Yoo Moov features a good range of tools, we feel that the controls on its parent unit could be more intuitive. Being able to easily control features such as the volume – which is actually three steps away – would certainly keep things simpler for sleep-deprived parents trying to navigate the settings at midnight. Please ensure both the camera unit and parent unit are turned on. Follow steps in 'Pairing' section if you need to pair.Lucy developed a real passion for blogging and writing when her children were young, and has used and reviewed a number of baby monitors with her daughters, testing key features to ensure quality and value for money. Walk around your house and garden with the parent unit, ensuring that you can hear the sounds from the baby unit at all times. The monitor will work up to a distance range of approx. 300m. Pros: Clear 1080p wide-angle camera; smart sleep analytics; useful danger zone and cry detection; grows with your child It also offers 1080p video footage for clear visibility. The item is lightweight and extremely easy to set up, although you will need Wi-Fi to set it up and operate it. It comes in either baby blue or baby pink and has little teddy bear (blue) and bunny (pink) ears on top of the camera as an extra little design perk. It’s also made from safe and non-toxic materials.

Most of the devices in this list connect to your home Wi-Fi, offering audio or video. First, think about the Wi-Fi signal in your home. If your baby's nursery has a limited signal, for example, and you want a smart baby monitor you might want to also look at Wi-Fi extenders.

Is it easy to keep clean?

It took us a bit of time to work out how to navigate the parent wristband and familiarise ourselves with the symbols – it will vibrate, flash red and display the icon relating to that alert should baby need attention – a green light indicates that the baby is moving, for example, while an orange light shows baby is balling their eyes out. Set up also took us a while as we had to connect the hub to our Wi-Fi network and then connect both the parent monitor and baby monitor separately – this took a few attempts and the app even suggests you go get yourself a cup of tea while this takes place. Jenny particularly likes how easy the 4.3-inch parent unit is to use. It features easy-to-select icons for access to features such as lullabies and nature sounds, zooming in, selecting the light and camera, etc. She thought the feeding reminder would come in useful for particularly sleep-deprived parents. The term “video baby monitor” is fast becoming a redundant one but, for those who haven’t bought a new baby monitor over recent years, the difference may not seem so obvious. For many years, baby monitors were simple audio devices, letting you hear when your baby made a noise. However, the majority of modern baby monitors have chosen to add video too – and it’s fast becoming the norm. These video baby monitors let you both see and hear your child during sleep – or those pesky gaps in between. What is the range of a baby monitor? The motion sensor works via batteries (which aren’t included) but positioning the motion pad is relatively straightforward, placing it underneath the mattress where your baby is positioned during the night. What is the audio and video quality like?