This £1500 'Intelligent Cot' with in-built iPad has divided parents

A baby furniture company has created the world’s first cot with an in-built iPad, but it hasn’t gone down well with all parents.

Babeek, a company based in Birmingham, has designed a £1500 ‘Intelligent cot’ which comes with an iPad built into the side.

Owner Gary Taylor, 35, owner of Babeek, says he created the cot after having trouble getting his daughter, Graysie to sleep.

Mr Taylor and his wife, Gemma used to use their phones to play white noise to get their baby to help her to nod off.

But if anyone phoned the couple the music would cut out disturbing Graysie.

So they decided to build an iPad into the little girl’s cot so the white noise app can be downloaded and played with no interruptions.

Despite Gary admitting the cot received a great deal of attention at the recent Baby Show in London, it has also drawn criticism from parents who believe the cot could provide an opportunity for lazy parenting.

“The most worrying aspect here are lazy parents who are likely to leave a tablet on all night,” one user wrote on Facebook. “How many parents do you think will realistically their tablet to purchase “white noise” or leave “white noise” videos running on YouTube?”

“Cots are meant for sleep….,” another commented.

Chartered educational psychologist, Gary Allen, also criticised the premise of the cot believing it would be used as a substitute for parental attention.

“Given the literature around screens, sleep and early attachment, creating a cot with an iPad is outrageous,” he told The Times.

Following the backlash Babeek addressed parents concerns in a Facebook post.

“We understand some parents concerns around the use of technology in raising their babies, however our tablets are an optional feature and offer proven benefit in soothing such as white noise…” they wrote.

This isn’t the first time technology has been blended with the world of baby sleep. Back in 2016 a smart crib hit the kids furniture market, which promised to send your baby back to sleep for you.

The SNOO Smart Sleeper uses microphones, speakers and sensors to detect a baby’s cries, then rocks them back to sleep with a “womb-like motion”, while playing white noise to soothe them.

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