The best baby monitors of 2025

One thing to keep in mind is that a baby monitor is useful to monitor your child to some extent. If you’re looking for advice on choosing the best baby monitor to buy, a pediatrician can offer some insight, but ultimately it’s up to you to decide what features you want your monitor to have. “There is no evidence that using a baby monitor reduces the risk of sudden infant death syndrome,” it warns Dr. Alexis Monique Javierpediatrician at Memorial Hermann in Houston.

While parents shouldn’t rely entirely on a baby monitor to care for their child, Dr. Javier points out that there are a few things to keep in mind when choosing one. “Keep in mind the range and the distance and that it works,” she says. You also want to decide what features are important to you, as some monitors are portable or have two-way walkie-talkie capability, night vision, and other features.

Dr. Javier says that parents of some patients with technologically advanced baby monitors have shown her videos of their babies climbing out of their cribs or making other unusual movements. “Having this information can be helpful at times, but I haven’t used it specifically to advise parents on how to improve their child’s sleep,” she explains. So any additional data may only be helpful to a certain extent if your pediatrician can’t guide you beyond that.

Dr. Javier believes that parents should choose the baby monitor that best fits their lifestyle. Ideally, you’ll want to go for a wireless device, and if it has a cord, it shouldn’t be out of baby’s reach. This could potentially result in choking or injury. “Keep in mind that a monitor can disrupt a parent or caregiver’s sleep, so if that proves to be a problem, they should consider other options,” she says. Another thing to keep in mind is to make sure you choose a baby monitor that has a secure connection, as some videos or recordings may be compromised.