Parents Hut

Andy Youtz asked:


With all the crime in the world today, you need to be extra careful whom you leave around your children. An ever increasing number of Babysitters and nannies are not doing their job or not doing it correctly. You may be questioning what is going on when your not home. Is you child being abused? Is your babysitter having friends or maybe even a boyfriend over secretivly? Is your nanny putting your child to sleep as soon as you leave and watching television all day or night? These questions may be disturbing to you, but it is a very common problem in modern society.

Perhaps the best way to catch the people watching your children doing things they should not is by utilizing hidden cameras. Hidden cameras go by many names including hidden cameras, nanny cams, covert cameras, secret cameras and spy cameras. A good hidden camera will look like an every day object and blend into its environment whether it be indoors or outside. Hidden cameras can be found in nearly any every day item big enough to enclose it. Some cameras used for hidden cameras are as small as 1 inch and can fit inside nearly anything. If you need to watch your child in the living room then don’t use a can opener hidden camera, it will be out of place and draw attention. Instead use a clock hidden camera or maybe a book hidden camera that will look perfectly in place in a living room.

There are many functions a hidden camera can have. Perhaps the first thing you should consider is if you need to see in low light or not. Hidden cameras generally can not see in complete darkness, but they are available with a low light function. You also will have the choice between a color camera or a black and white camera. This is more a preference than a necessity and a black and white camera will usually do just fine for a good nanny cam. If you go with the color camera expect to pay a little extra. Low light cameras will nearly always be black and white or will convert from color to black and white in low light conditions.

Next you will need to decide if you want a wired or wireless camera. Wireless is much easier to install but costs a great deal more. A wireless camera will transmit the video from the hidden camera to a receiver that can be placed near a TV, DVR, VCR or computer recording system. When you use a wired camera you would need to either run wire from the camera to a recorder or you would need to use a super small DVR located near the hidden camera. The wireless cameras have several advantages over the wired, but perhaps the biggest is that it can be nearly totally invisible with no way to tell there is a camera hidden inside. One wireless hidden camera is a CO2 detector and plugs directly into a wall allowing you to see nearly the entire room without any cords or wires to give it away. The video image is transmitted to a receiver that can be located up to 1000 feet away (up to 2000 for high power cameras) in a different room recording everything that’s going on.

Recording is always a factor when dealing with cameras. There are many ways to record the image captured by a hidden camera. A DVR or Digital Video Recorder will allow you to plug your camera or receiver directly into it and generally is the best way to record. A DVR many times can record days and even weeks of video without running out of space. DVRs come in many sizes and can range from a few hundred dollars to thousands. You can also choose to record to your own VCR that you use to watch your home videos. Just connect the camera or receiver directly to the yellow composite input on your VCR and your ready to record. The last option is using your computer as a DVR. If you don’t have a VCR then this may be the most economic way to record your video. Recording to a computer can be as simple as purchasing a USB video converter and recording software which normally cost less than $200 together. These systems can record an unlimited amount of video only limited by the size of you computer’s hard drive. The great thing about most DVRs and computer recording software is that you can monitor it via the internet from anywhere in the world. If you have a modern smart-phone or PDA with internet access then you can check on your child anytime via your cell phone.

Although this may all seem complicated it is all pretty easy if you go with the right equipment. Any good surveillance company will help you find the best solution for your personal situation if you take the time to ask. Be sure to purchase a hidden camera that fits it’s environment and can not be detected easily.

You have the right to keep an eye on your children when your not home and now it may be easier than ever to have the assurance of knowing your children are safe. For as little as a few hundred bucks you can build a complete home nanny cam system.