4 Ways We Use Our Baby Monitor

A few weeks ago Motorola sent us a Motorola MBP36S baby monitor to review. Our "baby" just turned TWO a few weeks ago and we've never really used a video monitor consistently because our house isn't that big and usually we can hear the baby easily.

Little did I know that watching my baby sleep was only ONE of many ways that this Motorola video monitor would be used at our house! Today I'm going to share 4 other cool ways that we're using our baby monitor.

As we've been trying out the new monitor I've discovered that we use it in a variety of ways that I didn't necessarily think about. It has become something that everyone in our family has enjoyed trying out. I think we already decided we need another camera or two as well. I'll tell you more about that and how it works later in the post.

Here are four of the cool ways we've been using our Motorola MBP36S video monitor:

1. Supervising my preschooler's quiet time

My preschooler has quiet time in her room every afternoon while her two year old brother takes a nap. She builds with her DUPLO, plays princesses, dresses up, etc. She loves the down time alone and I love the time to get work done alone. She usually plays for one and a half to two hours with some interruptions... like coming downstairs to show me her outfit or asking me questions... or asking me to help her on the toilet. Usually when she needs something during "quiet time" she yells down the stairs. We've been working on her talking "quietly" but it hasn't sunk in yet. I am LOVING how she can talk to me through the Motorola MBP36S video monitor. She can show me what she is dressing up in and I can comment while still getting the dishes done in the kitchen or throwing laundry in or catching up on work emails. She can also warn me quietly that she's headed to the bathroom and needs some help (instead of yelling to me from the bathroom). It's like we're having our own little secret conversations and the best part is that they won't wake her little brother up. Love it!  

2. Spying on my kid's playdates (LOL... just kidding)

It isn't really spying though if your child knows there is a camera, right? I actually haven't done this but I can totally see how useful this could be. My older kids (ages 6 & 3) usually love to take their friends up to their rooms to play with their toys during playdates. I am usually close by, but try and give the kids space while I play with my toddler. Every once in awhile my older kids and friends will make a bad choice or two with how they are playing or damage something. Although I don't want to be a total helicopter parent, it would be nice to have a little heads up to be able to prevent any big problems. I could even use the talk buttons to say something like, "Remember the beds are for sleeping, not for jumping"... or "Please take the light saber fighting out to the backyard."   

3. Entertaining our toddler with family musical numbers

This is my favorite use for the video monitor. My big kids have been having fun performing songs and dancing in front of the video monitor and then my toddler and I get to watch. My toddler thought it was so hysterical to be watching a video of his crazy siblings dancing while he was downstairs and they were upstairs.

Here's the video my older kiddos made the other night. I think they are pretty goofy. The quality of the video is only poor because my camera phone doesn't take great video footage. Make sure you turn up the volume and listen for toddler giggles! 🙂

4. Communicating with my older kids without having to yell

We've been moving the camera around into different rooms in the evening and late afternoon when kids are just playing or doing chores. They think it is fun to say hi to me if I'm not in their room and I love that I can just press a button and tell whoever is close to the monitor to round up everyone else for dinner... instead of yelling upstairs. It is a terrible habit, but I usually just yell upstairs. It has been nice to nix that by using the monitor. Since the monitor is a novelty right now, they listen right away when I ask them to do something through it. I'll enjoy that for as long as it lasts!

We also use the monitor to do the usual bedtime and naptime monitoring. 

I love getting a glimpse into how my two year old settles down at naptime and bedtime. It is fun watching his routine as he moves from side to side, adjusts blankets and his stuffed animal, talks to himself for awhile, and then falls asleep. I also love being able to know when he is crying and I need to go in and give him a hug versus when he's crying in his sleep for a second (with his eyes closed) and I don't need to go and interrupt him.

The only thing that is eery about the monitor is when the camera is in night mode and my toddler's eyes look creepy to me when he looks at the camera. Our house is also pretty dark so often even when it is daytime the camera will shift into night mode and will change the picture from color to black and white.

Here are some other details about the Motorola MBP36S baby monitor. It includes... 

• Wireless technology 2.4 GHz FHSS
• 3.5” diagonal screen
• Remote pan, tilt and zoom (I love this!)
• Crystal clear two-way communication (It isn't muffled at all)
• Infrared night vision
• Room temperature display (this is perfect when I want to make sure my little one isn't too hot or cold)
• 5 lullabies
• Sound level indicator
• Volume control
• Range up to 590 feet
• Out-of-range alert
• Rechargeable battery
• Low battery alert
• Flip out stand (on parent unit)- so useful!
• Expandable up to 4 cameras (additional baby units sold separately, Model: MBP36BU). I want to get an additional baby unit or two for my other kid's rooms! You can hook them up so that you can flip back and forth from camera to camera using just one parent unit. I would love to be able to chat with each kid or see what they are up to in different rooms in our house.
• View two baby units simultaneously with picture-in-picture technology

The only thing we didn't love about the monitor was that it beeped a lot when we moved the cameras for a variety of reasons and the beeps were loud! I also wish there was a switch to manually change the camera from day to night vision because once or twice the camera sensed that it was nighttime when really a bedroom had the lights on but it was dark outside... so instead of showing the picture in color, it would be in black and white. Other than that, my husband and I both really loved this Motorola monitor and are excited to discover more cool and creative ways to use it as a family. 

If you're looking at purchasing a monitor, you can get your own Motorola MBP36S baby monitor HERE.

Do you have a baby video monitor? How else have you used it? What feature do you like the most in this one? Come let me know in the comments!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.