As the pandemic peaked, the use of property protection measures fell 6%. People didn’t need cameras for home security purposes because they were already at home.
Instead, the Alfred team has observed that AlfredCamera is being used for a range of different things during that period, not least of all child monitoring.
So how exactly can Alfred help you in the battle to raise your kids? Find out how parents are using Alfred and why the next babysitter you hire might just be your old phone.
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Table of Contents
5 Reasons Why You Need an Indoor Camera
Home security is probably the first thing that jumps to mind when considering indoor surveillance.
Sure, it is a fantastic way to improve the safety and security of both your family and your possessions, but it pays to think outside the box about how you can use indoor surveillance to make small, meaningful improvements to your life as a parent.
Here’s five ways an indoor camera can simplify parenting.
1. Keep watch over newborns
Whether you’re a first-time mom or seasoned baby-popping veteran, the immediate postpartum period can be extraordinarily stressful.
Recommended reading: 45 Questions First-Time Parents Will Have, Answered
As any new parent will tell you, any way the load can be eased is more than welcome. Setting up a camera in the crib is a game-changing way to make those first few months a little easier. Take some much-needed time for yourself without losing sight of your baby.
And while baby cameras have been around for some time, they’ve come leaps and strides. AlfredCamera is a perfect option; set your phone up above the crib using a grip, and let Alfred do its thing. With two-way audio and push notifications, it’ll let you know immediately when your baby awakes or needs something.
2. Easy communication
Two-way audio supported by indoor camera options, including AlfredCamera, mean that you can easily chat with your kids wherever they are in the house.
Notice some misbehavior? You won’t miss a beat; in fact, you can get a head start on scolding them virtually!
The best thing, of course, is that it’s two-way, so your child can also contact you as and when they need you, allowing you to respond quickly to accidents, tears, and tantrums quickly even if you aren’t in the room.
3. Leave the house
Having kids is an enormous sacrifice, particularly because of the anxiety that comes hand-in-hand with being a parent.
After having a child, you suddenly understand exactly why your mom or dad was constantly in your ear about where you were going and what you were doing. In many ways, your life rewrites itself around the needs and safety of your child. Particularly for new parents, or parents with prepubescent kids, it can be difficult to leave them out of your sight for a while.
A great way to ease into leaving kids home alone is to have a camera watch over them. It’s not a permanent solution, especially once your kids start pushing into the teen years, they will naturally want you to trust them with being left alone. But for those first few endeavors into leaving the house, let Alfred give you peace of mind by keeping an eye on things.
4. Nap Time
Nap time goes both ways—it’s not just for the kids!
We know how exhausting parenting is, and it’s important to stay on top of your sleep schedule. Of course, when raising kids, sometimes you take what you can get, when you can get it. With AlfredCamera, you don’t need to have eyes on the kids 24/7, so you can afford a moment’s rest.
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Relax: push notifications and Two-Way Talk will let you know when something requires your attention, like if your child is restless or up to no good.
5. Security
Indoor cameras are often positioned at advantageous points around a property to view the most valuable, or vulnerable, things, like above the front door.
Of course, your priorities should be entryways and vulnerable points, but it also is worth considering having your cameras work around security for your kids. A camera outside your child’s bedroom, or facing a window, will help to protect them and their valuables in the event of a break-in.
With their iPads and video game consoles, kids nowadays are building up quite the net-worth; protect it with security cameras.
4 Types of Parents Who Will Benefit From Indoor Cameras
No two parents are the same. As such, the way they use their indoor cameras for child monitoring, and what they need it for in the first place, will differ.
We’ve identified four types of parents that we think will benefit from monitoring their kids, albeit in slightly different ways.
Which are you?
Remote Working Parents
Thanks to the pandemic, it’s estimated that more than 1 in 4 Americans worked remotely through 2021, a trend that will probably change the future of work lifestyles; over a fifth of the workforce is predicted to be remote by 2025.
For many parents, remote working felt like a blessing in disguise. It allowed parents to spend more time with their loved ones, saving on the nuisance and cost of constant childcare needed to deal with poor work-life balances.
Still, it’s not without its problems.
Indoor cameras can really ease the shift into a work life spent with children running around the house, allowing you to keep an eye on things and chat with your loved ones while focussing on work.
| Setup | Child’s room, living room |
| Features you’ll rely on | Live, Two-Way Talk |
| When to use | Throughout the day |
Introverted Parents
Even with the utmost preparation, nothing can stop the reality of having children hitting like an explosion. Suddenly, our private lives are obliterated, and alone time can feel non-existent. This can be really taxing on those of us that like our alone-time, and, unsurprisingly, introverts are more likely to experience postpartum challenges and depression.
By no means is a camera a way of treating mental health problems, but it can help introduce some much-needed distance as your child grows. Though parenthood can hit hard, your identity does not need to be completely thrown under the bus.
Enjoy occasional instances of down time by deploying AlfredCamera to cover the night shift. Always consult a mental health expert for professional advice on postpartum depression.
| Setup | Child’s room, crib, living room |
| Features you’ll rely on | Live, Motion Detection, Low-Light Mode, Two-Way Talk |
| When to use | Check Live before bed time, or throughout playtime |
Busy Parents
No parent in the world can say they aren’t busy, but some happen to be more so than others. Bills need to be paid; meetings need to be attended. Life does go on. Trustworthy childcare is, of course, paramount for young children, and they should never be left unattended.
Keeping an eye on babysitters through a camera is also a very wise idea. But as your children age, you’ll want to begin to leave them alone without supervision.
An indoor camera can be the perfect middleman for situations like this, allowing you to go about your busy lives with greater peace of mind.
| Setup | Child’s room, living room, out the window in view of the garden |
| Features you’ll rely on | Live, Two-Way Talk |
| When to use | Check periodically on Live |
New Parents
Though some might argue toddlers are the most challenging age a child goes through, newborns definitely give them a run for their diapers. And if this is your first time, it will inevitably be even more of a challenge. A fun challenge, that is.
An indoor camera will take a lot of the edge off first-time parenthood. This is primarily because of how much sleep affects your quality of life. Things can become tough, fast, when you’re getting next to no sleep.
The key is to sleep when the baby sleeps, and having an indoor camera attached to a crib, with Two-Way Talk and push notifications, will help you re-establish some kind of balance, and allow you to do things other than watching over your baby 24/7.
| Setup | Crib |
| Features you’ll rely on | Live, Motion Detection, Low-Light Mode, Two-Way Talk |
| When to use | Check before bedtime and periodically throughout the night; two-way audio can wake you up when the baby begins to cry. |
We think you might be interested in this as well. Learn how to play with your newborn with these 10 most-discussed tips.
What Parents Are Saying About AlfredCamera
Even the team at Alfred are often surprised by the smart ways people are using AlfredCamera to make their lives easier and more peaceful, not least of all the users who are parents.
Here’s some of our favorite ways parents are using AlfredCamera.
This parent uses AlfredCamera as a security solution, noting that it’s been a game changer for them as a parent. The security of our children is the most important thing for a parent, so it’s important to find a reliable way to look out for them. With AlfredCamera, that solution can be your phone.
AlfredCamera can be used as a middleman as children begin to come of age. This parent wanted to test the waters in a safe way, leaving their child home alone but using the app to keep a virtual eye over the house. If anything had occurred, the child could quickly and easily notify the parent through two-way audio.
Dealing with toddlers while working remotely can be challenging, but this parent manages it brilliantly with AlfredCamera. Interestingly, they use Alfred as a means of solving arguments! Like they say, the camera never lies…
Conclusion
Being a parent is one of life’s greatest gifts, but it doesn’t come without its challenges. Luckily, the challenges that faced parents even a hundred years ago are nothing more than a memory, and with affordable, accessible consumer technologies, the bumpy, unpredictable road of child-rearing can be made a little smoother.
AlfredCamera is increasingly being used by parents as a way to keep a watchful eye on their kids, whether newborns or on the cusp of adolescence, while giving them peace of mind.
AlfredCamera is available to download for free on iOS and Android.
Interested in learning more about how you can utilize AlfredCamera for? Check out our article 8 Interesting Ways Users Are Using Video Monitoring Revealed