Portable Peace of Mind for Parents (Tomy Walkabout Classic)

Member Name: sersha

Product:	Tomy Walkabout Classic
Date:	12/04/05 (361 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Portable, volume control, peace of mind for parents

Disadvantages: The mute button is pointless and not well thought out, interference

When I was a baby my parents didn't have a baby monitor, they just had sharp ears! It's amazing how you can pick up the slightest sound from your child and differentiate it from other babies sounds, even when they are all in the same room. I swear I can hear Leah make any noise at all when I am out in the garden even WITHOUT a baby monitor!

However, it was one of those must-have gadgets that we chose before she was born, because at that time I had no idea I would get radar ears. There are some very fancy and sophisticated monitors on the market now, including those with temperature gauges and even cameras so you can actually watch your baby as well as listen to them.

My husband and I decided we only wanted a basic but reliable model from a quality manufacturer, at a reasonable price, and that's why we chose the Tomy Walkabout Classic. It's not a great quality sound, as it's not a digital monitor, but it's enough to hear your baby and that was all that mattered to us.

Of course we played with it before she was born as if it was a one-way walkie talkie and it was very handy when I was upstairs and heavily pregnant - I could tell him I was stuck (wedged) in the bath without having to shout!!!

When Leah was tiny I wasn't prepared to let her out of my sight and she slept in my arms, but as time went on I began to put her to sleep in her cot, so that I was free to do other things. The monitor provides peace of mind: instead of thinking I can hear her and worrying, I know for sure whether I can hear her or not!

How Does it Work?
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The monitor has two units, a baby unit (place up to ten feet away from baby) and a parent unit (carry around with you - there is a useful belt clip). These units run off the mains which is ideal if you are staying in one room, for example overnight, and on 4 AA batteries per unit as well so you can do the gardening or even pop out to the car while she is sleeping. They cover a distance of up to about 100 metres, but of course the further away you are from the other unit, the worse the signal strength will be. The signal strength is better with the mains adaptor than with the batteries, but of course you can't go as far when the monitor is plugged into the mains adaptor!

It's great that the monitor is so portable, as you are free to move around the house without worrying that you won't hear your little one. It's also peace of mind that if there is a power cut, it won't affect the monitor which will just start running on the batteries instead. The red "on" light on the unit is great for paranoid mothers who wake up in the middle of a quiet night and instantly want to check it is still working. There is also a low battery warning light so you know when to replace the batteries. This can easily be done with the aid of a screwdriver! The units have a flat base so you can stand the parent unit up in the room where you are based if you wish, and easily see the light display from a distance without having to pick up the unit.

The volume control runs from 1-10, and I generally leave it at 10 as most parents would! However, if baby is just objecting to being in bed, you can always turn it down for a little while! You can see how much volume your baby is creating even if you don't hear it, as quiet crys mean a display of green lights, which rise to red if baby is getting mad! The monitor is very sensitive, so you actually hear baby breathing rather than just when she crys, which is great if you are putting baby to sleep in her own room and want to still hear her breathe!

There is also a mute button. It's on the switch in-between on, and off, which I think is a mistake. I've accidentally switched the monitor from off to mute, instead of from off to on before now. It wouldn't have taken much thought to position the mute AFTER the off so that the sequence was on, off, mute rather than on, mute, off! That quibble aside, it seems to me that a mute button is pretty pointless. If you need to turn it off for some reason, why not just turn the volume down, or even turn it off for a minute?

There are two channels, A and B so you have to ensure that both units are set to the same one. The only purpose I can see to having two channels is that you can switch if you are getting interference from the neighbours unit! (remember to change the switch on both units or you won't hear baby at all!)

The interference is sometimes quite annoying, especially if you have other electronic equipment plugged in next to the monitor. I can't charge my mobile next to the monitor, for example, as I get a lot of crackling. The amount of interference you get will depend on where you have your monitor and the other equipment around it, some of which is outwith your control (the neighbours TV for example!) I know one family who managed to actually hear the baby next door instead of their own, which means its very sensitive - a mixed blessing perhaps!

Final note: it's worth remembering not to enter your baby's room with the parent unit still attached to you, you will get very loud hissing which is enough to wake baby!

Best Price £27.92 from www.deafequipment.co.uk
(Widely available in high street stores as well)
12 month guarantee included

Summary: