Top connected devices for kids of all ages
Wearable and connected technologies are changing every part of our lives, and bringing up kids hasn’t been forgotten.
Parenting is big business for technology companies, and there’s little wonder: the latest tech can offer peace of mind and give parents back precious time for themselves.
Essential reading: Should we use tech to raise kids in the wearable age?
From smart baby monitors for babies to GPS kids trackers for toddlers running riot and every major milestone in between, we’ve run down some of the best connected devices for parents for kids of all ages.
YONO Labs fertility ear piece
For some couples, getting pregnant can be tough and there’s been centuries of old methods and wisdom for getting the timing just right. YONO Lab’s earpiece measures Basal temperature at night, which for many women is key to getting pregnant. The earpiece tracks vital signs and then transmits them to a companion smartphone app in the morning so you can indentify your perfect time. The device is currently crowdfunding on Kickstarter and is selling devices for $99. Delivery is estimated for Oct 2015.
$99, kickstarter.com
Bellabeat Shell
The latest wearables can also help expecting mothers get closer to their baby while he/she is in the womb. Yes, you heard us right. The Bellabeat Shell enables you to listen to your baby’s heart rate in the womb, store biometric details in a companion app, and even play soothing music. The real winner? When the baby is born, Bellabeat claims to be able to ‘recognise’ its cries and point you towards what it needs.
$119, myhealthybee.com
Sproutling
Sproutling offers an unbelievable amount of data about your baby’s wellbeing – so much so that experts have told Wareable that such data could actually fuel parental paranoia, not solve it.
That warning aside, Sproutling will track heart rate, skin temperature, body position and motion and fire it to any iOS or Android device. It then uses that data to try and help you out by offering estimated wake up times. The sensor even measures sound levels in the nursery, so you can avoid compounding problems yourself by having the TV too loud downstairs.
$259, sproutling.com
Angelcare AC1200
Taking baby monitoring to the next level is the sensor laden AC1200 from sprog-spying stalwart Angelcare. The under-mattress sensor keeps tabs on movement and an HD camera lets you check in from the next room. There’s two-way audio, you can play a range of soothing lullabies and even pipe in your own blissful beats from your MP3 collection.
$299, angelcarebaby.com | Amazon
Filip 2
By using a heady combination of GPS and GSM (old school 2G to you and me) the Filip 2 band not only enables you to quickly locate a child that’s wandered off, but enables 2-way voice communication with up to five pre-determined numbers, so you can stay in contact and comfort them (and yourself) as well.
The second gen Filip – which is just available in the US for now – also has a nifty geo-fencing feature, which means you can be alerted if your child wanders out of the garden, for example.
$149.99, myfilip.com
Guardian Angel
Wearable peace of mind for less, the Guardian Angel is essentially a warning system designed to alert you if your child wanders too far away. You can choose a perimeter distance from 10m to 50m, and your pocket-sized alarm will go off if it senses the cute ladybug wristband has gone out of range.
£44.99, trackyour.co.uk
