Technology has had a huge impact on how we parent. It can be argued whether this is good or bad, but for me, parenting is such a tough gig that any help is welcomed.
Whether it’s for security, monitoring, comfort, automation or entertainment purposes, smart home technology has endless applications which can give us parents a helping hand. This kind of tech is something we’ve adopted and embraced in our own family life - so much so that it is now our norm.
With just one or two taps on my smartphone, I have control over aspects of our house regardless of where I am in the world – whether it’s switching on lights, boosting the heating or checking on the dog, smart tech gives me the means to achieve this.
Having tried smart devices from a number of different suppliers, we’re now happy with our current home setup. We use a combination of Hive and Yale for our home security, Hive for lighting, heating and smart plugs, and Google Home as our virtual assistant.
During our journey into the world of smart tech, we’ve discovered many ways it can aid parenting. Here’s three smart tech devices we own and how we use them with our kids:
Google Home
Home assistants are packed with family-friendly features to help alleviate childhood boredom. In our house, we use voice commands to ask Google Home to play music (usually the Frozen, Moana and Trolls soundtracks) and play games (including Musical Chairs and The Wiggles’ choose-your-own adventure game) to entertain the children. We regularly ask Google to “tell me a joke” which my daughter finds hilarious, even when she doesn’t understand the punchline!
It’s great to field some of the millions of daily questions I receive as a parent – many of which I can’t answer. Recent referrals to Google have included head-scratchers including “what noise do pandas make” and “how many people run the London marathon”. There’s also loads of things you can ask Google which result in a funny response - “who you gonna call” and “do you want to build a snowman” are my daughter’s current favourite judging by the number of times she asks Google each day!
Hive View Camera
We own two Hive View Cameras which we bought primarily for security purposes, however we’ve found additional uses for them with the children. As parenting requires you to perform the impossible task of being in multiple places at the same time, the cameras provide an extra pair of eyes. I’ll regularly place the detachable camera into a room with the kids, then watch the live feed when I’m cleaning, cooking, or ahem, sitting on the toilet. This also works brilliantly when the kids are still asleep in the car when we’ve got home from a day out.
We’ve also turned one of the cameras into a baby monitor. This allows us to see a live feed of our son when he’s asleep, be alerted to movement or sound, communicate via two way audio, download particular footage and even play a lullaby. Although, I’m not going to lie, turning on the live feed to see your baby staring directly at the camera from a few inches away is the stuff of nightmares!
Hive Lights
Over time, we’ve upgraded more and more of the bulbs in our house to Hive Smart Lights. From a parenting perspective, the fact that they are dimmable and can be scheduled makes them the perfect night light. We have one setup in our hallway to turn on to 5% brightness at sunset, then turn off at sunrise, so there’s always enough light to scare away any monsters.
A few of our Hive Smart Lights are colour changing bulbs too. Through these, we add an extra element when it comes to imaginative play, watching films or reading stories. For instance, changing the colour to a cold blue is perfect for transporting ourselves to Arendelle when watching Frozen, or making them a hot orange works well when jumping across the sofas and cushions when the floor is made from lava.
If this sounds like the kind of thing missing from your family life, you’ll be interested to hear that EE customers can get the latest smart home technology with EE Add To Plan. With free setup and support for a year, the ability to spread the cost over 11 months and a wide range of devices from the likes of Hive, Nest, Alexa, Ring and Apple, making your home smarter has never been easier.
Do you use smart home tech in your household? What are your thoughts on using smart technology to help with family life? Share your view in the comments below to be in with the chance of winning a bundle of smart home appliances from EE!
For terms and conditions click below:
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EE Competition to Win a Smart Home Bundle
- The promoter is: Things Unlimited on behalf of EE Limited whose registered office is at [10 Great Pulteney St, Soho, London W1F 9NB].
- The competition is open to residents of the United Kingdom aged 18 years or over except employees of [EE & Unlimited Group] and their close relatives and anyone otherwise connected with the organisation or judging of the competition.
- There is no entry fee and no purchase necessary to enter this competition.
- By entering this competition, an entrant is indicating his/her agreement to be bound by these terms and conditions.
- The competition will be advertised on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter. However, entry to participate in the competition is via the comments on the EE Community Blog Post [http://bit.ly/2HM2ZYX].
- Only one entry will be accepted per person. Multiple entries from the same person will be disqualified.
- Closing date for entry will be Sunday 30th June 2019. After this date the no further entries to the competition will be permitted.
- No responsibility can be accepted for entries not received for whatever reason.
- How to enter the competition are as follows:
Access the article here: [http://bit.ly/2HM2ZYX].
Do you use smart home tech in your household?
What are your thoughts on using smart technology to help with family life?
Share your view in the comments below to be in with the chance of winning a bundle of smart home appliances from EE!
- The promoter reserves the right to cancel or amend the competition and these terms and conditions without notice in the event of a catastrophe, war, civil or military disturbance, act of God or any actual or anticipated breach of any applicable law or regulation or any other event outside of the promoter’s control. Any changes to the competition will be notified to entrants as soon as possible by the promoter.
- The promoter is not responsible for inaccurate prize details supplied to any entrant by any third party connected with this competition.
- The prizes are as follows: Google Home Hub, Google Home Mini, Hive Motion Sensor, Hive Active Plug, Ring Video Doorbell 2
- The prize is as stated, and no cash or other alternatives will be offered. The prizes are not transferable. Prizes are subject to availability and we reserve the right to substitute any prize with another of equivalent value without giving notice.
- Winners will be chosen at random from all entries received and verified by Promoter and or its agents.
- The winner will be notified by email from the EE Community Blog post within 28 days of the closing date. If the winner cannot be contacted or do not claim the prize within 14 days of notification, we reserve the right to withdraw the prize from the winner and pick a replacement winner.
- The promoter will notify the winner when and where the prize can be collected / is delivered.
- The promoter’s decision in respect of all matters to do with the competition will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.
- By entering this competition, an entrant is indicating his/her agreement to be bound by these terms and conditions.
- The competition and these terms and conditions will be governed by English law and any disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England.
- The winner agrees to the use of his/her name and image in any publicity material, as well as their entry. Any personal data relating to the winner or any other entrants will be used solely in accordance with current UK data protection legislation and will not be disclosed to a third party without the entrant’s prior consent.
- The winner’s name will be available 28 days after closing date by emailing the following address: [srahman@tmwunlimited.com]
- Entry into the competition will be deemed as acceptance of these terms and conditions.
- This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook, Twitter or any other Social Network. You are providing your information to EE and not to any other party. The information provided will be used in conjunction with the following Privacy Policy found at [https://ee.co.uk/eeprivacycentre]
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