The Tech I Depend On Every Day To Keep My Toddler’s Room Ready For Sleep

If you are a parent of young children, you are familiar with the difficulty of sleeping. I passed my fair share of retreating sleep with my little one, and despite all that, I try my best to keep his sleep schedule consistent. This includes making sure that his room is set up so that it is a comfortable place for him to sleep.

One way I have done this is to rely on certain pieces of technology to make his bedroom sound good. Even though his sleep isn’t perfect every night, I know he has the best options to set him up for success.

1. SmartWings Smart Shades

I learned that for my son to sleep well, we need dark shades. My son’s window treatments needed replacing recently, and we suspected that they were contributing to his waking up during naps and naps as the light was still coming into the room.

We installed SmartWings blackout black shades, and his sleep was much better. These smart shades are one of CNET’s top blind picks and come in a variety of fabrics, but I chose linen. It has no unsightly wires or plugs because it uses a battery-powered motor with a rechargeable Li-ion (lithium-ion) battery. This is important for safety if you have a young child who is tempted to pull strings and push buttons.

You can also choose additional light barriers for additional coverage in the room at an additional cost. For ease of handling, these blinds come with a remote control, so I can lower or raise the shades while sleeping or sleeping.

2. Nanit Pro Baby Monitor

Nanit is a smart baby monitor for my toddler that allows me to keep an eye on him during naps, naps and even playtime. I have two Nanit monitors set up in his room: one above his bed, while the other gives me a full view of the room.

This monitor is CNET’s favorite baby Wi-Fi monitor and can be viewed on your phone with the Nanit app. Nanit gives you a detailed analysis of your baby’s sleep and more, which I appreciate, especially since I recently learned that it can also do sleep scores. Knowing your child’s sleeping habits can help determine which sleep areas need improvement.

I also like that I can use this monitor to monitor my son when he is playing alone in his room and I am working or in a different area.

3. Hatch Baby

The Hatch has been my go-to night light and sound system since my son was a baby. I use the Hatch Restore in my room and more recently the Hatch Baby in my son’s room, which is the new Hatch device that offers more features for parents with babies and toddlers.

You can control the Hatch Baby device manually or through an app on your phone. The app lets you access different night light colors and sounds, as well as stories, songs and tuck-ins, which are messages you can record with your voice to play at bedtime.

I usually default to the white noise function as it works like a charm. However, I used its bedtime stories and songs to initiate bedtime.

If you need help with your child’s sleep, you can also chat with sleep consultants in the app. This feature is part of a free six-month subscription to Hatch Plus, which gives you access to a sleep guide and a library full of premium songs and stories. After that, it’s $5 a month or $50 a year.

4. Moonlite Storytime Projector

Reading bedtime stories has become more fun with the Moonlite Storytime Projector. It’s a small device that you attach to your phone with a compatible Moonlite media outlet to project onto your ceiling or wall. You can read once, and each story includes music and sounds. Other options to choose from include single stories or packs from classic books, such as The Hungry Caterpillar and Disney and Pixar stories based on children’s movies.

At home, we’re fans of Toy Story and Cars Moonlite stories. It’s a great way to read your kids’ favorite stories while keeping them ready for bed.