Many baby monitors come with temperature sensors and yet parents often wonder ‘are baby monitor temperatures accurate?’.
It is but natural to have such doubts. After all; you want to know for sure whether the baby’s room is at an optimum temperature. This is important to prevent overheating of the baby, given the fact that higher temperatures are linked to increased risk of SIDS.
In this guide, we cover:
- Are baby monitor temperatures accurate? How accurate are baby monitor temperatures?
- 2 Factors that affect the baby monitor temperature reading
- And more…
Are Baby Monitor Temperatures Accurate?
Many baby monitor temperatures are pretty much a hit or miss and several parents have complained about them. In addition to the inaccuracy of the temperature sensors, the placement of the monitor in the baby’s room can also impact if it shows the correct temperature or not. The monitor’s brand also makes a difference.
Are Baby Monitor Temperatures Accurate? If Yes, How Accurate Are They?
Baby monitor temperatures are often inaccurate and some of them give temperature readings that could be off by ±2 degrees. This is actually the acceptable range since some monitors are actually known to be off by ± 10 degrees.
Having the right temperature is important for your baby and every parent will want to maintain the nursery at a comfortable temperature.
But can parents rely on their baby monitor to know for sure? Judging by the fact that many parents have taken to platforms like Reddit and WhatToExpect to complain about the inaccuracy of baby monitor temperatures, the answer is NO.
The optimum room temperature for a baby to have a good sleep is between 20 and 21 degrees C or 68 to 72 F. In fact, this is the temperature experts recommend for preventing SIDS in babies since the risk of the syndrome increases in overheated babies.
Why is it important to maintain the baby’s room temperature in this range?
**A study was conducted in the US on SIDS and its link to ambient temperatures. Researchers obtained data of SIDS deaths collected over nearly 3 decades. They studied nearly 60,364 SIDS cases over this duration. The study concluded that a 5.6°C (10°F) higher daily temperature was associated with an increased risk of SIDS by almost 8.6%. Furthermore, the study concluded that the risk was even greater in the summer months.
Therefore, it is very important to ensure that your baby monitor temperature sensing is reliable.
In the next section, we will study 2 factors that could impact a baby monitor’s temperature accuracy.
2 Factors That Impact a Baby Monitor’s Temperature Reading Accuracy
The accuracy of the monitor to display the right room temperature greatly varies from model to model and brand to brand. That is why parents must do their homework prior to buying their baby monitor.
Many components of the monitor can impact its temperature sensing accuracy – mainly its sensor, the technology used, etc. Also, it matters where in the room you place the monitor. This too can impact its accuracy. (We will cover this in detail too, in this guide).
1. Brand
The brand of the baby monitor can play a role in its accuracy. Many monitors are known to be inaccurate as far as their temperature sensing is concerned.
However, they have fairly good features as far as their audio or video monitoring is concerned. So, if the temperature display isn’t too important for you, you can always go for reputed baby monitors available out there.
2. Placement of the monitor
This is very important. Sometimes, parents are quick to blame the baby monitor for not sensing the temperature accurately. However, it may be that they haven’t placed the monitor properly.
For example, the monitor may be too close to a window or a vent with a draft. Alternatively, it may be closer to a heater’s duct or the AC vent. Even placing the monitor too high or too low in the room can give inaccurate readings.
The best thing to do is to place the baby monitor away from cooling/heating sources, preferably in the center of the room at a height that isn’t too low or too high.
How to Maintain the Right Room Temperature in Your Baby’s Room?
According to WebMD, the baby’s room temperature should be maintained between 68 and 72 F or 20- and 21-degrees C.
Since your baby is still growing, it is more sensitive to temperature differences. Moreover, it cannot express the differences in ambient temperature, other than crying.
It is only by 11 weeks of age that babies’ bodies learn to regulate their temperature. When a baby sleeps, it can reach a body temperature of 97.5F in about 4 hours of sleep.
If at this point, the room is very hot, then there is a risk that the baby can get overheated. This risk increases in summers and even in winters if you overdress your baby in layers.
That is why you must monitor your baby’s room temperature to prevent overheating and maintain it in the 68-72 F range. You can either use a reliable baby monitor with a temperature sensor or opt for a regular room thermostat to set this optimum temperature.
Check on your very young baby from time to time
Of course, it is best to check on your baby from time to time. After all, thermostats and devices can fail. For parents who cannot check on their baby frequently, it is better to least make sure to dress the baby comfortably.
According to experts, it is actually better to have the baby slightly underdressed than overdressed to prevent the risk of SIDS. This is not only true for babies up to 6 months but also for toddlers.
When in doubt, feel the baby’s skin on its neck and head. If these feel warm, lower the room temperature, remove one layer of clothing, and take steps to cool down the baby. If, on the other hand, your baby is shivering or its fingertips look bluish, then add a layer of clothing and warm up the little one.
In the subsequent sections, we will cover different baby monitor brands and their accuracy as far as temperature sensing is concerned.
How Accurate Is the Motorola Baby Monitor Temperature?
Many parents have complained about the Motorola baby monitor. Of course, there are many different varieties in it too like Connect Series Baby Monitors, 2.4 GHz video baby monitors, over-the-crib monitors, etc. They all have different features.
But if reviews are to be believed, most parents say that Motorola monitors tend to round off the temperature reading to 75 F. Other reviews have also mentioned that Motorola always shows the temperature to be between 75 and 78 F.
Some mommies also got together on a popular forum to see where in the room the temperature range was the most accurate. For example, changing the monitor’s position from high to low, or to the center of the room, etc. did not make too much difference and the Motorola monitor continued showing the inaccurate temperature.
These mothers then concluded that the Motorola baby monitors probably worked best and showed the temperature accurately only when they were plugged in and charging.
Verdict: Motorola may have updated their baby monitors recently but the earlier versions were definitely off and led to many parents panicking due to alarms caused by overheating of the nursery.
How Accurate Is Temperature on Baby Monitor Infant Optics?
Infant Optics has received fabulous reviews on the top retail sites which go to show how popular it is. But a little bit of research reveals that many concerned parents have questioned the monitor’s temperature reading accuracy.
One parent used another house thermometer to measure the nursery room temperature and compare it with the readings given by the Infant Optics monitor. The latter always showed a higher temperature and the difference in reading between the two was nearly 7 to 8 degrees F.
Later, many other parents corroborated with this and mentioned their own experiences regarding Infant Optics inaccuracy. Some even went on to say that their Infant Optics was off by nearly 10 degrees F.
Verdict: Based on inputs from several parents, Infant Optics baby monitor may not be the most reliable and is off by nearly 10 degrees.
How Accurate Is Hello Baby Monitor Temperature?
The Hello Baby Wireless video monitor comes with temperature sensing and alarm as well. It has received very good reviews and one buyer on Amazon had asked about its temperature accuracy. In response to it, another parent had mentioned that his monitor was fairly accurate.
On other forums too, parents had mostly praised the Hello Baby monitor’s temperature accuracy with one or two users stating that theirs was usually only off by 1 degree F compared to their house temperature monitor.
It also comes with a feature that many other baby monitors don’t have: it starts beeping loudly and turns the screen red when the temperature in the baby’s room rises or drops outside the optimum range.
The downside to Hello Baby is its price, still, most parents won’t hesitate to pay it, given these features. It also comes with many other attractive features like a pan-and-tilt camera, pre-programmed lullabies, and a very good range.
Verdict: This is a great monitor and if you are looking for reliability in temperature sensing, this is the one to choose.
Is Vtech Monitor Temperature Accurate?
Vtech baby monitors are known for their long-lasting batteries, clear display, and features like 2-way talking. It also assures parents of privacy as there is no Wi-Fi or application needed for using it.
Vtech baby monitor comes with a U0001f496 Temperature Sensor which sends alerts to the parent unit so they can change the thermostat.
But is its temperature sensing reliable?
According to some users on Amazon, the temperature accuracy of the Vtech baby monitor is highly questionable. One parent said she loved the monitor’s audio and video quality but the temperature was way off without a fix to it.
On Reddit, another user said that her husband and she were living in the perpetual ‘thermometer who cried wolf’ scenario with their Vtech baby monitor. Their monitor’s thermometer alarm kept going on over and over and there was a 5 degree C difference in the readings shown by their standard thermometer and Vtech’s temperature sensor.
Perhaps they received a faulty unit. But it does mean that Vtech needs to improve its temperature sensing technology given that several users have reported issues.
Verdict: VTech baby monitor may not be the best choice for parents looking for reliable temperature sensing.
Is the Nanit Temperature Accurate?
Recently, the Nanit Smart Baby Monitor was discontinued.
However, the Nanit Pro Smart Baby Monitor has several features like a crystal-clear 1080p display, safe encryption decryption, and sleep tracking. It also has sensor-free baby breathing detection, etc.
However, some users reported that their Nanit baby monitor’s temperature and humidity sensor stopped working within a month. Shortly after that, even the streaming became inconsistent.
PC Mag’s reviewer Eric Griffith however, stated in his review that Nanit’s temperature was usually fairly accurate.
Verdict: Given that the majority of baby monitors have very poor accuracy as far as their temperature display is concerned, the Nanit Pro Smart seems to fare pretty well. Only a few users reported issues with temperature sensing.
Is Summer Infant Baby Monitor Temperature Accurate?
Summer Infant baby monitors come with clear nighttime views. They also have voice-activated ON/OFF (VOX) technology, and several features like talk-back, rechargeable batteries, etc.
However, on a Baby Community forum, one parent went on to say that her monitor was definitely not showing the right temperature. It displayed 85 F but in reality, it was more like 75 and 78 F.
Some other parents suggested changing the location of the monitor. Hers was on the ceiling and she later moved it to a dresser next to the crib. That showed a temperature that was 6 to 7 degrees lower.
Verdict: Most users of the Summer Infant baby monitor have found it to be highly accurate and have not faced any issues with temperature readings.