Fisher Price Sounds and Lights Monitor Review

Anyone who has infants and young toddlers likely has a baby monitor, both for reasons of safety and for the peace of mind a baby monitor brings. Monitors range widely in terms of price and capabilities and one of the more budget- priced devices available is the Fisher Price Sounds ‘N Lights Monitor, an inexpensive way to make sure your baby is safe and sound.

Monitor Commentary:

Fisher Price Sounds ‘N Lights Monitor is a simple device that consists of two main pieces: A Transmitter and a Receiver. The transmitter for the Fisher Price Sounds ‘N Lights Monitor has an on/off switch and a channel switch that offers two settings: Channel "A" and Channel "B". A few small openings at the top of the transmitter act as a microphone to pick up the sounds. The receiver has identical channel selectors and on/off switch, but with a few more features. The on/off switch is also the volume control on the receivers. Above this switch is a panel that features four arcs of light. As sounds take place in the baby's room, the receiver picks up sounds and arcs of red light gradually light up, starting from the bottom. One arc of red light indicates a small amount of sound; two arcs indicate a louder sound; etc., all the way up to four arcs of light, which indicates the loudest sounds.  

With the Fisher Price Sounds ‘N Lights Monitor, you get a very simple, no- frills baby monitor that lets you know if any disruptions occur in your baby's place of rest. Although simple, Fisher Price Sounds ‘N Lights Monitor offers some good qualities that make it a worthwhile addition to the household with infants and young toddlers. The best feature of the Fisher Price Sounds ‘N Lights Monitor is the one that matters most to the majority of parents: Its ability to pick up and transmit even the slightest sounds. Your baby can simply turn over in the crib and take a deep breath, and the monitor will respond. Depending on how loud the volume is turned up, concerned parents will be able to hear these and other sounds. Since most of these sounds are not necessary to hear, I tend to turn the volume a little bit lower. Otherwise, the sound would wake me up every hour.  

Because the Fisher Price Sounds ‘N Lights Monitor uses lights and sounds, parents can use either one as a means to detect sounds. With the speaker, one can hear the sounds as they are made and this is the main reason people purchase baby monitors in the first place. But the lights are also helpful, for they indicate the intensity of the noise and they work even if the volume is turned completely off. The lights allow a parent who is awake to monitor a room without using the sound control. By watching the lights, parents will know if any sounds are coming from the room.  

Does the Fisher Price Sounds ‘N Lights Monitor have any drawbacks? Yes, it certainly does and the most annoying among them is the static. Even when there is nothing going on, you still get static and it is especially loud if the volume control is turned too high. Sometimes, you can reposition the receiver and/or transmitter of the Fisher Price Sounds ‘N Lights Monitor and reduce the static. Changing the channel can also help. But you can't do much with the antennae (it is flexible, but it doesn't extend or move) and there is almost no way to get completely static- free reception.

Yet another potential problem with the Fisher Price Sounds ‘N Lights Monitor is its ability to sometimes pickup the sounds from other people in the neighborhood. I, like many other who own this device, found out about this unique quality by accident. Suddenly one day, I heard the voice of an unknown person coming from the monitor. My first reaction was fear, because I thought there was a stranger in my little girl's bedroom. But once I calmed down, I realized there was no such problem. The sounds were coming from another house. It is nice that the Fisher Price Sounds ‘N Lights Monitor picks up lots of sounds, but this is not necessarily what I had in mind when I learned that this monitor offered a large range. Some may find this feature amusing, but you need to keep in mind that if you can hear them, that means they can hear you.  

Bottom Line Viewpoint:

Babies need to be monitored and the Fisher Price Sounds ‘N Lights Monitor offers an inexpensive way to keep an eye/ear on your infants and/or young toddlers. It doesn't offer anything special and it does deliver plenty of annoying static, but it gets the job done. Battery and AC dual power, sounds/lights combination, and the ability to pick up the slightest sounds make this a baby monitor worth considering.