Baby Monitors

I hadn't quite decided if we needed to get a baby monitor as we have quite a small house, however Farmers have a great deal on at the moment until the 12th on the Philips Avent DECT Baby Monitor SCD520. It's usually $299, but has $100 off and it also has a $30 cash back.

So I guess my questions are....

Is $170 still a very expensive baby monitor or is this an average price?

What exactly are baby monitors used for except to tell if your baby is awake? Is it common to have/buy a monitor to tell if your baby is still breathing?

I guess that even though our house is small I would use it if I was outside or if we were visiting or staying else where?

Any opinions/advice on how you have found yours or what you think of this one would be much appreciated.


Here are the specs for this baby monitor:

Crystal clear sound with zero interference
Small rechargable parent unit
Extra long range - 330m
Auto channel selection
Digital signal confirmation and sound level lights
Baby unit nightlight
Adjustable sound sensitivity
Volume control and talk back
Low power indicator
24 hour monitoring before recharge
Temperature sensor
Digital display with remote control on parent unit
Soothing lullabies and nightlight

I agree - if you are not getting a movement monitor don't spend that type of money on a purely sound activated one, you can pick them up pretty cheaply - we got ours in a farmers sale.
This time we are looking at getting a movement monitor and just using our sound activated monitor with it.

We love our monitor. It makes life really easy for me as i spend a lot of time outside and the monitor means I don't have to keep running inside all the time to check on her. A monitor is handy but I agree with the others on this one. You don't need one with a range that far if you have a small house/section. We are on an acre and a half so I needed one for that and we paid $200 for it cos most only have a small range on them. Get a cheaper one if you can. The one your looking at has all the bells and whistles but do you really need it???

Thanks for all your replies. You have confirmed that it isn't necessary at all and that we'll probably do without one. Just thought I'd better check there wasn't something else it was needed for except to hear baby waking.

Funny but these were DH exact words "sounds like a glorifed walkie talkie'! Sounds like he was spot on.

Yeah for another $40- $50 you could get one with a movement pad plus all those features (except for playing lullabys) so I'd flag it.