One of the most nerve-wracking moments for a new parent can be the simple act of taking your baby for a drive in the car. This is one of the few moments when you don’t have a direct line of sight to your child, and you’re powerless to reach for her if she’s crying. For me, the even tenser moments were when I heard no sound at all. Should I be worried or was she simply napping? Most of us know that turning around to check on your child while driving can be a road hazard, but the draw to check on your child makes it hard to resist. While baby mirrors have been designed to address this problem for quite a while, Infanttech takes a new approach with a plush-encased camera that wirelessly feeds video to a windshield-mounted display.
The 3.5” video screen attaches to your windshield with a suction cup, providing the flexibility to move it to a position that gives you the best line of sight. This allows you to catch a glimpse of your child with minimal distraction from driving. In addition, the video screen is anti-glare and automatically switches to night vision mode in low light conditions, making it easy to see your child under all conditions.
The plush-encased camera is currently available in three adorable varieties – a puppy, a monkey and a giraffe. Their arms wrap around your car’s headrest and buckle together for a secure hold. Note that you do need a headrest on your back seat should you be using the monitor with a rear-facing car seat. For front facing seats, simply attach to the headrest of the front seat. An internal armature let’s you easily bend the plush to a position that gives you the best view of your child. Soft and cute, these plush animals have the added benefit of amusing your child to help prevent fussiness, though older children may be tempted to reach for it, seeing it as a toy.
Both the camera and the video monitor are powered by rechargeable batteries that are good for up to 6 hours. This is good news since I’ve found that I often forget to turn off the camera when leaving the car. In addition to a wall charger, a car adapter is available with 2 USB ports, so that you can easily charge both the camera and the monitor right from your car.
While primarily intended for in-car use, we’ve enjoyed using the monitor in home as well. This is particularly handy for travel. For the in-home environment, the monitor performs on par with many advanced baby monitors, providing both HD video and good audio. The versatility of the Velcro lets you easily attach the camera to furniture for a good vantage point and keeps it out of reach to prevent becoming a suffocation hazard.
Infanttech’s Always In View baby monitor for cars is available for $199.99. Learn more at www.infanttech.com.