Conquering Naptime Mischief

My kids are required to have a quiet time every day.  I personally need that time to recharge in that middle of the day.

They are usually pretty good about staying in their rooms and being quiet.  But there are other things that go on…

Yes, somebody likes to color.  She's so quiet that I think she's asleep.  Then when naptime is over — surprise!  Look at my pretty picture, mommy!  I don't think there is a blank wall left in her room.

Am I the only mom who has a kid like this???

Enter my new secret weapon in the war against naptime mischief:

Yes, baby monitors aren't just for babies anymore!  (Disclosure: VTech sent me a VTech Safe & Sound Pan and Tilt Monitor to review.  All opinions are my own.)

I seriously love this monitor.  (I don't use the word LOVE unless I really mean it.)  It's hard to describe such awesomeness in one short blog post, but I'll try:

1. Instead of just hearing audio, I can see what's going on with this video monitor.  Since my little girl is a pro at stealth tactics, I need the visual element.

This occurred as I was composing this blog post…

The video quality is actually quite a bit better than what you see in the pictures too.  I was having a hard time getting a good picture.  It also has full color video, but the color doesn't really show up if it is dark in the room.

2. If she gets out of my line of vision, I can use the monitor to move the camera that is set up in her room and see whatever I need to see.

Ah, there she is…

I can move it side to side and up and down so that I have a view of the entire room.  I can also zoom in if I need to.

3. If I need to talk to her, I can press the talk button on the monitor and she will hear me from the camera in her room.  It is so sensitive that I can talk in a whisper and she hears me.  I love this because if I go in there her baby sister will sense that I'm there and wake up, but if I whisper through the monitor the baby doesn't wake up.

4. This system can have up to 4 cameras connected to the parent unit (must purchase additional cameras separately).  I would love to get an extra camera for the boys' room.

One of the most important things I wanted to know about this monitor was whether or not it was secure.  After reading a scary news story about a family who had someone hack into their baby's video monitor and watch their child and talk to him in the middle of the night, I wanted to be sure there was no danger of that happening to us.

As it turns out, since this monitor is not connected to the internet in any way, it would be very, very, very, very, (did I say very?) difficult for someone to hack it.  I am happy to know that I can watch my kids and talk to them without some strange creep having that ability too.

So now I can keep an eye on this little artist of mine during naptime!  I wish I had gotten one of these a long time ago; we would have a lot less painting to do!  (But it's a beautiful mess; remember that mama!)

If you need your own secret weapon, you can check it out right here.

So tell me, moms — What kind of naptime mischief do your little ones get into?