We have found the Gro-egg to be a very useful item, and continue to use it on a daily basis. However, there are other products that do exactly the same as the Groegg and more besides, specifically the BT Baby Monitor, to which I will probably refer in this review.

The Gro Company began in 2000 with their development of the Gro-bag, a baby sleeping bag. Since then they have developed a range of products that aim to solve specific problems encountered by parents. The Gro-egg addresses the problem of room temperature. It is a room thermometer. A white, more-or-less duck, or possibly small ostrich-egg sized and shaped entity it has a flat base and plugs into the mains. It reads the temperature of the room and displays this on a digital screen. But that is not all! It also glows in a variety of colours which means that you can see from a glance whether your baby's room is too cold (under 16 degrees C), at the recommended temperature of between 16-20 degrees C, warm (20-24 degrees C) or too warm (over 24 degrees C).

Why might you need to see at a glance? Why not simply enter the room and experience the temperature for yourself? Firstly, there is the disturbance factor. There may be times when you don't want to enter your baby's room, but simply want the assurance that the temperature is ok, or more likely you are simply passing the room and the coloured glow reassures you without you really consciously thinking about it. Conversely, you may pass the room and see that the Gro-egg is red or blue and take action appropriately. We have experienced the Gro-egg turning red, and the action taken was variously to open windows, or reduce the layers of clothing that Baby CrazyEgg was wearing. The second benefit of being able to see the temperature at a glance is that Mr CrazyEgg and I experience temperature differently: "Isn't it hot!" he will say. "No! It is cold." I say; whereupon in those early days of having Baby CrazyEgg at home we would gaze at each other in mutual consternation. A third reason is due to dynamics of heat within our home, with rooms being of vastly differing temperatures at any one time. Baby CrazyEgg's room is the one that seems to get both hottest and coldest and can be in total contrast to the respective temperatures Mr CrazyEgg and I are experiencing. Due to all the above we make use of the Gro-egg frequently.

Many parents will be mindful of the advice from the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths (FSID) that in order to reduce the risk of cot death babies should not get too hot, and there will be varying levels of anxiety in the monitoring of this. For various reasons we have been anxious and concerned to try and get things right, and the (FSID) logo on the Gro-egg packaging and the information that the Gro Company work in partnership with FSID encouraged our purchase of this product. Helpfully, for us given our anxiety and inexperience with babies, the Gro-egg comes with instructions that give advice on what to do if the room is too hot or too cold. There are three main options: cool or heat the room, adjust the bedding, adjust the baby's clothing. It then includes a quick reference guide as to what bedding and clothing combo should be used for any given temperature range, according to whether you are using sleeping bags or sheets and blankets. Finally the instructions include the Safer Sleeping guidelines from FSID. Some of all this is very obvious, but it is nonetheless reassuring to have it written down.
So all that the Gro-egg does is monitor room temperature and glow a particular colour accordingly. The major limitation of this is that you may be unaware of a significant temperature change, unless you check baby or pass their room. This summer for example, we found that we could close Baby CrazyEgg's window with the room at the recommended temperature, and half an hour or so later it could have risen to 24 degrees or higher- 27 was the highest I saw. Of course she was not dressed for 27 degrees, but for 19-20 degrees, so there was a risk of overheating. We did not become aware of this because of the Gro-egg, but because of the BT monitor. This monitor also records room temperature (incidentally the BT monitor and Gro-egg are never unanimous in their decision over temperature, but they are closer in their conclusions than myself and Mr CrazyEgg), and glows different colours. However, its superior feature is that it also beeps to alert you to the fact that the temperature is too hot or cold.

If you put a hot cup of tea near the sensor the BT Monitor will begin to beep very rapidly indeed. You will have a major panic and never let a cup of tea out of your sight again. You will also be pleased at this demonstration that the monitor really works.

The Gro-egg should not be placed near to radiators or next to an open window or draughts as the readings will become misleading. It also needs to be out of reach of your Baby. It may be difficult to achieve this depending on the size of your Baby's room and the location of the power sockets, so that might be something to consider before purchase.

Overall this is an attractive and useful product that does all that it claims to do. Other products do it better however, so I will only award it four stars.

© CrazyEgg 2012