Just the other day, I had a client come in to see me at my office. She needed insurance policies for her two kids. As a single parent, she could not find a sitter and she emailed me in a panic 20 minutes before she was about to leave and asked me if she could bring the kids in with her. We have some clients that come in with kids and it’s usually fine when they bring them in.
Appointments run about an hour at a time and if we close the doors to the boardroom we usually meet in and it’s not too distracting for the other advisors in the office so I told her it was fine. Well, it wasn’t. Her kids were the most hyperactive I’ve ever experienced. They were running, yelling, spilling things and jumping off of things.
The mother, sat there, not breaking focus with me while simultaneously saving her children from slips and spills. It was incredible. At the end of the meeting, as I was walking her to the door, her daughter quietly whispers something to her. My client calmly stands straight and tells me there is somehow a sunflower seed lodged in her daughter’s nose. I couldn’t believe it.
She walked back to the boardroom, laid her daughter on the table and very carefully removed the seed with a pair of eyebrow pluckers she had stored in her purse. She then sat the child up, looked her square in the eyes and asked her, “Did we learn anything here?” to which her daughter (a little embarrassed by the whole situation) said she had and my client picked her up, put her back on the floor and left my office.
We were out of the boardroom less than 30 seconds and we had no food (especially sunflower seeds) in the boardroom. Where she found it and how she got it up there is still a mystery but the point of my story is you can never be too careful with your children. I admire her calmness in the hectic situation (she’d clearly done this before) and now understood the importance of being able to monitor your child.
Owlet is a company that I discovered on my searches for monitoring equipment for children. Owlet is a very interesting, technology-forward company that provides even more intensive monitoring systems.
The Owlet baby monitor is not your typical sound or video monitor but actually, a smart sock that the baby wears that monitors the baby’s oxygen levels and heart rate. It is connected to your mobile so that no matter where you are you can monitor the child.
It is has been designed to sound an alert if your child’s heart rate dips too low, rises too high or if their oxygen levels drop below a pre-set threshold. The technology was actually put together by a team of oximetry specialists as well as pediatricians, neonatologists, and pulmonologists, so you know that there is medical backing to the technology.
This monitor proactively monitors the oxygen levels and baby heart rate so the parent has peace of mind. 83% of parents that used this monitor reported that they actually personally slept better at night because of the system. The technology is also proven with over 100,000 hours of testing and 100 billion heartbeats monitored.
The sensor has smart technology allowing the child’s pulse to easily be read from their little foot. It has a flexible smart sock sensor which will adapt to the baby’s foot as they grow. The sock itself also has ‘Sure Fit Technology’ which offers a secure fit and accurate readings.
It has a universal fit which means it can be placed on either foot. The fabric of the sock is made of hypoallergenic cotton that is gentle and yet strong.
It securely wraps around the foot of the baby and is designed to grow with the infant.
The chip within the sensor has Bluetooth technology which has a range of up to 100 feet allowing the parent to move from room to room in their home without fear of losing signal. It also has a mobile app which has an improved interface with real time access, a sock sizing guide, push notifications, and the baby’s oxygen levels and heart rate.
It also allows the parent to access historical data, notifications and sleep trends which can help with behavioral issues in children later in life. The fabric sock is washable however for obvious reasons the electronics within the socks are not. They just need to be taken out before washing the sock.
The age range of this product is between 0 and 18 months. The sock is 0.1 oz. so the child will not feel weighed down in any way. It is compatible with the iPhone 5 and all newer models and the rechargeable sock can last up to 18 hours before needing to be recharged. It also comes in the cutest blue color.
Owlet offers a 45-day guarantee as well, allowing the parent to try the device for 45 days and if the product doesn’t work for them they can return it for a full refund.
This should give you peace of mind when trying the product out. It also has a one-year warranty. If the unit stops working they’ll replace it with a whole new one. This does not cover physical damage to the device, though.
Having a child is a wonderful gift but it can be stressful, especially for first-time parents. Worrying about things like SIDS can leave you totally stressed out. Therefore, it’s nice to have an audio or visual monitor; however, this does not tell the parent how the baby is doing on the inside.
Having the ability to monitor the babies heart rate and oxygen levels will help parents know their baby is okay and will help the parents sleep at night. And if you’re still unsure about the product, try it out and if it doesn’t work then you can return it with no hassle.