At a glance:
An audio monitor with a great range, our panel of mum testers loved the look of this little monitor. It needs to be plugged in to work, so make sure your tots’ cot or Moses basket is near a plug socket.
What they say:
"VTech Digital Audio BM1000 Baby Monitor helps you feel close to your baby when in a different room. It has a range of 300m and an audio warning if you get out of range."
Tested by mum Erica Yates for the Mother & Baby awards 2018:
Would you recommend this to other mums?
It is a really easy product to use so much so that I didn’t have to look at the instructions at all. Both the baby and parent monitors stand up freely and easily, so the design and shape here is faultless. Although I think some mums and dads would love an option to buy various colours to match their child’s bedroom, the red and white is very unisex and appealing to parents. The range is great and would easily suit someone that goes caravanning for example and wants to sit out in the awning, whilst they monitor their baby sleeping or playing. I also love that it’s really easy to keep clean and disinfect as the material is plastic and a simple shape.
How has this product made your life easier?
This product allows you to get some cleaning done and even have a hot cup of tea – something us mums’ always struggle to squeeze in! It gives you the reassurance that your baby is ok without having to pop into their room again and again.
Would you choose this product to win?
Personally, I would only purchase a monitor with video as I find it gives me a lot more reassurance being able to see my baby. However, should a mum not have the finances to afford a video monitor, this is certainly an audio monitor that I would choose compared to other audio monitors.
What changes would you make to this product?
I would change the size of the parent monitor to make it much smaller and more portable. It is a very big and bulky item to have attached to your pocket/belt loops, however it’s definitely lightweight enough to carry around so it’s not a real issue!
Tested by mum Wendy Yates for the Mother & Baby awards 2018:
Would you recommend this to other mums?
I think that as a budget range monitor, this is a good audio only one. It has rechargeable batteries which is a huge plus. The listening part is easy to use, with an on/off button and volumes up and down. It is easy to transport around the house and the monitor itself is small and compact so you could take it anywhere you needed.
How has this product made your life easier?
The product is designed to put your mind at ease whilst your baby is sleeping and it definitely does let me do things in the house whilst listening to my little one play. I feel that it has given me peace of mind.
Would you choose this product to win?
As an audio monitor, it is great. The sound quality is good and you can hear it well above the sounds of a normal household. That said, I feel that there are better monitors out there which can give parents more peace of mind. I have used a video/audio monitor before and for me, that is a far better product, yet I would use this monitor if visiting relatives or friends as it’s easy to transport.
What changes would you make to this product?
I feel that the monitor could maybe come in different colours. That said, as a budget monitor it is great and easy to use.
Tested by mum Courtney Young-Hart for the Mother & Baby awards 2018:
Would you recommend this to other mums?
I would yes – I have found that I feel a lot more comfortable having this on me and I’m sure other parents would too. It’s so easy to move around the house with the monitor attached to your belt.
How has this product made your life easier?
It’s so much easier being able to go into another room in the house and leave my daughter without worrying. I also have found it easier to sit downstairs in the evening, knowing I can hear my baby on the monitor rather than keeping her in the living room with me and have her getting woken up by the television.
Would you choose this product to win?
I would as it is one of the best I have seen around. It’s lightweight, easy to use, and doesn’t take hours to figure out how to set it up. I love that I can either turn the volume up or down on the parent monitor so that if I think my daughter is babbling I don’t have to go into her room to wake her, I can just turn the monitor up to hear her better.
What changes would you make to this product?
If I could change one thing I would change the fact that the monitor has to be plugged into the wall to work. Luckily, my daughter’s cot is near a plug socket therefore this wasn’t a problem, but for other mums it might be and it would be great to see a battery compartment as a back-up.
Tested by mum Ingrida Zubko for the Mother & Baby awards 2018:
Would you recommend this to other mums?
At first it seemed to be working fine, but after a few days I noticed the Safe & Sound Digital Audio Baby Monitor BM1000 started cutting out intermittently, sometimes for long periods. This made me feel that the monitor was unreliable and unsafe.
How has this product made your life easier?
I didn’t find this product made my life any easier. It kept losing signal and didn’t even pick up my baby quietly breathing. When my baby cried or coughed loudly I could hear, but I wanted the comfort of being able to hear my baby all the time.
Would you choose this product to win?
This monitor works ok, but I think you can get better ones for a similar price. The main issues are that the monitor can sometimes lose signal and beep sporadically, which is not ideal if you’re trying to catch up on some much-needed sleep yourself! This, unlike our BT baby monitor, isn’t sensitive enough to hear when your baby is breathing, which can be really reassuring.
What changes would you make to this product?
I would love the ability to change the lighting level on the baby monitor, and the technical issues I noted above.
Tested by mum Atlanta Williams-Harrison for the Mother & Baby awards 2018:
Would you recommend this to other mums?
I would recommend this product to a friend or mother because I love the product! I found it easy to use and loved the vibrant colour. If I wanted to travel, I would feel confident bringing this along with me and the distant range of sound is fabulous too.
How has this product made your life easier?
The product makes life easier as a mum and I am able to be more flexible around the house whilst knowing my baby is safe.
Would you choose this product to win?
I would choose this product above others in the market. Not only does it look great, the clever long-distance range really makes this product stand out above the rest. I left the monitor upstairs whilst I went to the bottom of the garden and could still hear my baby.
What changes would you make to this product?
If I could change one thing about this product it would be how long it took to set up and charge.