Time Magazine, November 30-December 7, 2015, listed the 25 best inventions of 2015. One of the 25 best was listed as “the next-gen baby monitor,” available for preorder at sproutling.com. The blurb said,
“Is my baby O.K.? That’s the question Sproutling aims to answer-in real time–with its first product. Once in place, the Fitbit-like device can track an infant’s heart rate, body temperature, position and more, and notify parents, via mobile app, if there is a cause for alarm. (Though regular check-ins are still encouraged.) Once it learns a baby’s habits, Sproutling can also offer helpful predictions, like when he or she will wake up from a nap. “We want to get more understanding of how children behave as a whole,” says CEO Chris Bruce, a father of two. “That’s the holy grail.”
A previous article about new generation baby monitors was not as positive nor glowing as Grandma initially thought. An article in the New York Times, a year ago, December 3, 2014 started, “[a] new generation of wearable devices for sleeping infants can gather lots of data, but parents might struggle to figure out what to do with it all.” In the article, “Baby Monitors for a Smart Nursery, but Parents Are Still Better.” Molly Wood, the author, tested some of the new monitors:
She did not try Sproutling. She tried Mimo, “which is a sleep-tracking device that connects to a customized bodysuit that a baby wears while sleeping, on a friend’s 11-month-old twins. A Mimo kit costs $200 and includes three “kimonos,” or button-up bodysuits.”and did not like it at all. She mentions Sproutling, but seemed to test just another brand, “a prototype of the MonBaby, it invariably confused sleeping on stomach with sleeping on back, and the alert it uses to let you know your baby has rolled onto his stomach is a terrifying klaxon that sounds like a smoke alarm. (Yes, you can turn it off.)” I agree that it sounds awful. She mentions Owlet and Rest Devices also as new monitoring products.
This Grandma, who thought she had found the new gold standard of baby monitors in one the 25 best inventions of 2015 is very confused. Does one year of research and development make enough of a difference to distinguish Sproutling in 2015 from its competitors?
Then Sproutling immediately joined this Grandma’s NO list. Ms. Wood said, “And both Owlet and Sproutling hope to use anonymous data from infant tracking to advance research and their own product development. But it remains to be seen whether parents will opt in to sharing their children’s sleep data, even anonymously.”
So, just like FaceBook, it seems that by using Sproutling new parents may be giving up data about their precious child to strangers to maintain and use as they deem fit and the data on the baby will remain forever, and beyond their control. What!
This Grandma is back to looking for the best 2015 video baby monitor. The “best bang for your buck” on line reviews and the number one best seller on Amazon is SafeBabyTech’s Video Baby Monitor.
Here is the description:
“BEAUTIFUL 7″ LCD DISPLAY – 3X Larger than the competition! Finally, a video baby monitor that’s large enough for you to actually SEE your baby! This High Resolution display monitor supports both regular DAY mode as well as State-of-the-Art NIGHT VISION video. Safe Baby Tech’s Video Baby Monitors come with a SLEEP MODE: AUTO-DIM feature that allows you to turn off the display while keeping the audio activated – a parent demanded feature!”
“TOP DESIGNER STYLING, STATE OF THE ART TECHNOLOGY – Sleek modern high end resolution screen is framed by a crystal clear bezel that blends in beautifully with any décor. The monitor can be placed on a night stand or anywhere you desire for an amazing custom look.”
“EASY PLUG AND PLAY SETUP – NO PROGRAMMING NECESSARY! All of our baby monitors come programmed and setup right out of the box. Simply plug the power cord in and Power On! No complicated instructions or programming. However, if you do run into any issues simply call our customer support who’s standing by ready to help!”
“CLEAR AUDIO & 2 WAY TALK – Safe Baby Tech’s Video Baby Monitor transmits clear sound allowing you to hear everything from a whisper to a cry . You can also TALK to your baby by simply holding the TALK button on your baby monitor. This can help soothe your baby with the sound of your voice without you ever having to get up and go to their room!”
“MANUFACTURER MONEY BACK GUARENTEE & LIFETIME WARRANTY – If at any point you’re unsatisfied with your SafeBabyTech Video Baby Monitor simply return it to us for a Full Refund. Also included with every purchase is an unheard of LIFETIME WARRANTY!”
No one is keeping the data on the baby forever on this video monitor. This Grandma is not even curious if Ms. Wood would like the 2015 “winning” version of Sproutling. The new electronics are just too creepy for this Grandma.
Ms. Wood ends her article with saying:
“Most new parents obsess over their babies, especially over whether, how much and how well they are sleeping. But until these tools are more accurate and less complex, they are no substitute for a decent video monitor and an old-fashioned hand on the forehead.”
Yes, Ms. Wood’s 2014 conclusion is the same conclusion this Grandma comes to in 2015 even if Sproutling has been declared one the 25 best inventions of 2015. I do not worry about new parents personally checking on their new baby, which they constantly do anyway, if they can keep their own eyes open after the exhaustion of caring for a newborn. That is where the real concern about Sproutling comes in. This Grandma cannot figure out the opt in and opt out requirements of most of anything. Exhausted new parents reading complex instructions may, as this Grandma surely would, mistake opting out for opting in, if, exhausted, they pay close attention to instructions about this feature at all. The data sharing is only an advantage to Sproutling. And this Grandma agrees with Ms. Wood, that the information overload may not really be helpful to new parents. New parents are easily freaked out and who needs a new product giving too much information likely to freak them out even more.
Yes, do buy the best video monitor for the parents of our grandchildren. Can we connect it to FaceTime so we grandmas could also watch the baby video monitor, when it is on, in our own homes? Now that would be one of the 25 best inventions of 2016. With so many grandmas in the United States, it would be a financial bonanza for any company to develop. Apple, are you listening?
Joy,
Mema
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