VTech Survey Finds That Accidents And Choking Are The Top Parent Concerns As National Baby Safety Month Begins

BEAVERTON, Ore., Sept. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- In honor of National Baby Safety month in September, VTech^® Communications, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of VTech Holdings Ltd. (HKSE: 303), commissioned a survey¹ conducted by independent market research firm Toluna to uncover parents' worries, habits and priorities for a safe home.  Top safety concerns include children getting hurt by falling or getting into harmful material (29 percent), choking (24 percent) and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) (20 percent).

With these worries top of mind, today's parents are extremely safety conscious with the majority (71 percent) of survey respondents labeling themselves as:

• Close supervisors (40 percent) -- I tend to hover over my child/children, and I do worry about their safety -- but I'm not completely relentless; I've done childproofing around the house and I take regular precautions to ensure safety.
• Protective (31 percent) -- I will stop at nothing to ensure the safety and well-being of my child/children; I childproof everything; I am constantly worried about his/her/their safety and I constantly monitor my child/children to keep them safe.

"As every parent discovers, keeping kids safe remains a 24/7 proposition," said Stacy DeBroff, founder and CEO of Mom Central. "National Baby Safety Month offers parents key advice and tips around home safety practices that can both help protect children and provide parents with peace of mind."

Other key findings of the survey, which took a pulse of attitudes and behaviors on child safety, include:

• Men and women have different safety styles.  According to survey respondents, men identified themselves as more relaxed about baby safety than women. More men than women (32 percent vs. 27 percent) labeled their parenting styles as: "Casual and Easy Going" or "Adventurous."
• Parents get an "incomplete" on their safety homework. Nearly seven of ten parents (67 percent) research products before purchasing through reviews and ratings.  However, only 40 percent of survey respondents researched important safety recalls to ensure their products are not defective. Parents of four children or more have learned by experience and are more diligent about researching safety recalls than parents with only their first child (44 percent vs. 40 percent).
• Parents are good at following instructions for safety.  After purchasing a product, the majority of parents surveyed (58 percent) read all the instructions before using or assembling the product to ensure safe operation.  Half of respondents keep the instructions in case they need them in the future.

A Baby Monitor is One of the Most Important Products for Babies

When asked about the most important baby product, parents ranked baby monitors as the top product after clothing to not skimp on, even if money was tight, surpassing child-proofing locks, strollers, rockers, toys, changing tables and room decorations. Survey respondents' most important consideration when comparing baby monitors was the best/most features (34 percent) followed by price (21 percent) and consumer ratings (22 percent), and more specifically, parents put a spotlight on portability and clear, secure audio reception as the most important features for baby monitors.

Addressing parents' desire for advanced features, VTech's new line of baby monitors, the Safe& Sound^® Digital Audio Monitor (DM221, MSRP: $39.95) and the Safe&Sound^® FullColor Video and Audio Monitor (VM321, MSRP: $129.95), offer robust technology at affordable prices, enabling parents to maximize monitoring options at lower cost. Leveraging its expertise in wireless home communication, VTech Safe&Sound baby monitors provide tremendous portability with a range of up to 1,000 feet. The Digital Audio Monitor features Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) 6.0 technology, ensuring high-quality and reliable sound that prevents wireless interference from other electronic devices and security from digital snooping.

"We know that parents have a lot on their minds about their little ones, so we engineered a product to help put them at ease with an array of features that make monitoring integral into their daily care routine," said Matt Ramage, senior vice president, product management, VTech Communications. "Nothing is more important than the safety of the baby. VTech's Safe&Sound baby monitors give parents a tool they can rely on."

The VTech Safe&Sound Full-Color Video and Audio Monitor contains a robust set of features, including high-quality video resolution (transmitting up to 22 frames per second) on a sizeable 2.8-inch video screen with a 320 x 240 pixel display (compared to a 2-inch display for slightly more expensive models). Other unique features include a split video screen, enabling simultaneous viewing from up to four separate cameras with the purchase of additional cameras (VM301, MSRP: $49.95), along with infrared night-vision capability for viewing when the room is completely dark.

For more information about the VTech Baby Safety Month Survey or on VTech and its Safe&Sound baby monitors, please visit http://www.babymonitors.vtech.com.

About VTech®

VTech is the world's largest manufacturer of cordless telephones and a leading supplier of electronic learning products.  It also provides highly sought-after contract manufacturing services.  Founded in 1976, the Group's mission is to be the most cost effective designer and manufacturer of innovative, high-quality consumer electronic products and to distribute them to markets worldwide in the most efficient manner.

1.     Toluna, Inc. fielded the study on behalf of VTech from August 17-21, 2012 via its online omnibus service, interviewing a nationwide sample of 1,195 parents aged 18 years and older.  Data were weighted using propensity score weighting to be representative of the total U.S. adult population on the basis of region, age within gender, education, household income, race/ethnicity, and propensity to be online.  Data for questions related to online use or behaviors were weighted specifically to the respective "online" populations.  No estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated; a full methodology is available.

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SOURCE VTech