Smart home gift ideas for new parents
When a loved one becomes a new parent, amongst all the joy and happiness you feel for them, there’s a teeny, tiny bit of sympathy for what’s to come. The sleepless nights, the constant feeding, the non-stop rocking and shushing - not to mention all those simple things that suddenly become so complicated when you’ve got no extra hands!
When you’re thinking of gift ideas for new parents, rather than the usual soft toys and blankets, it might be worth giving them something a little different and whole lot smarter. Smart appliances are perfect for making new parents lives a whole lot easier. Why not create a new parents survival kit with some of the clever little gadgets below?
Smart lights for late-night baby events
Replacing incandescent bulbs with smart lights is an easy way to make late-night feeding and changing a little easier. Hive lights give instant access to your lights straight from your smartphone, using the Hive app. Make this part of their new parent survival kit and when their little one wakes in the night, they can quickly get the lights exactly how they need them.
Smart home lighting enables you to control your lighting hands free too – by connecting your smart lights to Google Home or Amazon Alexa. Then when you’re trying to make up a bottle in the middle of the night and have your hands full with your baby you can say “Hey Google, turn on night mode in the kitchen”. Giving you just enough light to see what you’re doing, without over-stimulating your little one.
When it comes to creating a bedtime routine, we’ve created a guide on how you can use smart technology to help your baby sleep.
Motion sensors to automate the small things
Why would motion sensors make a great gift for new parents we hear you ask? Well, if you’ve got a new-born baby, motion sensors can be a really simple way of giving you a helping hand when you need it most. By connecting your sensors to other smart home tech, your home will work automatically around you.
Let’s say you position one near the front door and connect it to some smart lights. Then when you walk in with a buggy, a car seat (or both) the lights will come on automatically without you having to fumble for the light switch.
The good news is, that connecting sensors and smart products up like this is really easy to do. In the Hive ecosystem you do it through Hive Actions on the Hive app.
Keep the new family home cosy with a smart thermostat
The best smart home thermostats give you instant access to your heating, wherever you are. Really useful for most of us, it’s a great idea for a new mum and dad gift.
First, as temperature control is important for keeping babies safe and healthy it’s an easy way of quickly checking on the temperature of your home throughout the day. It also means you can always come home to a baby-ready warm home, without ever having to heat up an empty one.
Secondly, it’s really handy when you finally get your little one off to sleep, but you don’t dare move in case that creaky floorboard wakes them. Simply turn the heating up and the lights down low with a few taps of your smart phone. Then put your feet up and enjoy the little you have left of your evening.
Give a Virtual Assistant to help around the home
Smart speakers like Amazon Echo or Google Home, could make a great gift for first time parents. It’s a bit like giving them a digital Mary Poppins!
Like when you realise you’re running low on nappies, while you’ve got your hands full with changing the baby. Just say the magic words and you can order all your baby essentials the hands-free way.
Smart speakers are also pretty handy to create the perfect mood and atmosphere for baby’s nursery. You can dim the smart lights, adjust the heating, and even use it to play a soothing lullaby for a set time - just enough to help your little screamer finally drift off to sleep.
Whether you’re thinking about buying presents for new parents or you just want to learn more about how smart home features could help make your life easier, check out Hive’s full range of products on the website.
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