Home security was one of the major themes I saw at CES this year, but even in the newly saturated market of DIY home security, there was one company that stood out. Canary All-in-One is about more than just home security, and it was the flexibility of the system that made me the most excited.

Of course, the Canary All-in-One provides the total home security you are looking for, but it also has so much more. With a 1080p HD camera, 90 decibel siren, plus a built-in climate monitor, you can monitor home from wherever you are. By using the Canary app you can watch live from anywhere at anytime, see air quality, and be alerted to anything unusual, 24/7.

Because the Canary is so much more than just a camera security system, there are so many ways that you can use it in your everyday life for your whole family. Read on to see all the ways the Canary All-in-One is about more than just home security.

Here’s just a few ideas of how to use it creatively with kids:

1. Have it keep track of when you {and your spouse, children, etc} are home. Link all of your phones to the Canary app and you won’t have to tell it your schedule because it will already know when to automatically alert you. You can also set up sleep schedules and more, but I love the feature of it knowing automatically when you’re home or not so I don’t have to stick to a specific schedule.
2. Greet your family members even if you’re not there. With Canary Talk, you can utilize the two-way talk feature to chat with each other through the Canary unit, a feature I especially love when we’re communicating with kiddos who don’t have cell phones. While the two-way talk feature isn’t super convenient for long conversations, it is great for a quick hello and asking how your child’s day went.

   

3. Use it as an intercom. The two-way talk feature of Canary Talk is also super useful for those times when you need to reach someone on a different floor of the house quickly and it’s extra convenient since it has a camera built right in so you can already assess the situation from across the house. One quick glance can let you know that the girls are going to require well more than a 5 minute notice to start cleaning their art before dinner, or you can quickly relay that we need to leave in 15 and you know they still haven’t eaten. The Canary is especially useful for those quick reminders that no, we still don’t drop our school bags in the entry way, or that sports equipment should never go on the stairs.
4. Keep an eye on the baby. Why carry around an old baby monitor when you can watch your baby snooze right from your phone? One less gadget to carry around, and the clarity of the HD video is so much better than any baby-specific monitor I’ve found anywhere.
5. Keep a watchful eye on tweens and teens. As much as we talk about baby monitors, the reality is that babies can only get in so much trouble when they are confined to a crib or unable to walk. To me, it’s the tweens and teens that could use a little supervision, so I love that I have options for keeping a watchful eye even on the rare occasion I can’t be there to supervise in person.

   

6. To give you a breath of fresh air. Canary monitors air quality, temperature, and humidity to help you understand your home even better. This may seem like just more information you’re never going to do anything with, but I can think of multiple health reasons you would want to know about your air quality. When you think about it, we spend so much of our time at home, so knowing that you have access to information about your home environment in real time can give you peace of mind that your home is healthy. One night we forgot to blow out a jarred candle before bed and I didn’t remember until it started smoking pretty bad right as it went out. Our Canary let us know that the air quality was bad right away, and I was really grateful to have that information and the assurance that the air quality was quickly back to normal range.
7. As a nanny cam. I was babysitting into the age of nanny cams, and I honestly always appreciated when the families I would sit for would have a cam set up. It made me feel better knowing that there was going to be no question what took place when they were out, and I now as a mom I can completely understand why that gave the parents peace of mind. We thankfully have lots of family willing to watch the kiddos and don’t have to hire out to strangers, but I love that if we ever need to, we have the Canary on our side.
8. Caught on Canary. Ever wish you could have a videographer shoot video of Christmas morning, or catch your little one’s first steps? Canary can record for you and replay all those amazing memories you could never catch spur of the moment.
9. Allow some independence. We’ve now reached a new level of maturity where we allow the kids to walk as a group to each others’ homes, so I love that the Canary alerts me when they leave and then when they arrive back home. It’s going to be my favorite feature of the Canary in the coming years when we allow the older kids to walk to and from school alone, or as we get into sports and carpooling with other families.
10. Pet-sit from afar. Think pets can’t get into that much trouble? My sister’s dog almost burned down her house a few weeks ago by jumping up on their stove to lick a pan, and my friend’s cat figured out how to flood their bathroom last night by knocking into the sink knobs, so I can assure you that they can get in plenty of trouble.
11. FOMO. When I’m traveling or stuck somewhere and I would rather be home, I love the little notifications that help keep me in the loop, abreast of all playdates, and in the know about who has and has not finished their homework and chores. It’s also a fun window into how they interact with each other when I’m not around and I love to see the older kids step up their responsibilities a bit when I’m not there.
12. Show off. When daddy’s at work, my kids like to connect to their dad via the Canary and show off new tricks, sing him songs, or just tell a funny story that can make him feel like he’s here with us. Since my kids don’t have phones, this is their way of saying hello and reconnecting even when they are far away, and I love that they can do it on their own.
13. To keep the kids honest. My kids used to think I had a whole forensic team at my disposal who could run fingerprints and DNA, even at nights and on weekends. Sadly, I don’t have my own private lab at my disposal, but I can keep the kids honest with the introduction of the Canary to our lives. Who spilled the milk all over the counter and left it? Oh, none of you little darlings? Well, let’s just roll the tape, shall we? {metaphorical tape, obviously}
14. Loading… loading… Ever have a big backup that you’re needing to run, an update to your software to load, or a need to transfer large files from drive to drive? Set up your laptop right by your Canary and watch your progress from afar. No more running from room to room to catch any pop-up windows and you will never feel like your whole day was wasted waiting on technology that was *supposed* to speed things up.

    

15. Be on the alert. Even if you’re not home, you can still alert authorities when things aren’t right at home, as well as notifying those that might be in the house. Use the Canary app to sound the built-in 90 decibel siren or connect directly to your local emergency services for immediate response when you need help immediately. It’s not just about intruders or being able to deter burglaries, you could use this feature to reach neighbors, to get people out if there was a fire that Canary detected due to bad air quality or via the camera, or for simply waking a sleeping teen who refuses to get out of bed… okay, so maybe not that last one.
16. Peace of mind. I cannot rest easy until I have all the information, and Canary gives me all the information I could hope for, as well as some extra bonuses I hadn’t even considered before now. Not only do I love all the features currently packed into this little unit, I also love that Canary is always learning and adapting. It adjusts to your preferences, knows if you’re around, has advanced AI-powered person detection, and it is constantly learning from you so it understands the difference between ordinary and unusual activity in your home.
17. Give them the audience they crave. Forget YouTube, Musical.ly, or any other video sharing site, let them “perform” for the Canary instead. If they see that white circle on the bottom of the Canary, they know they have an audience. Sing your heart out, show off your dance moves, or perform your newest trick… and keep it safely off the interwebz where literally anyone can see it.

    

How to get your own Canary

The Canary is designed to keep you informed about your home and loved ones, and now they have even more options for getting started with your own system. There is a new way of purchasing Canary devices per a new “pick your price” program, and that means there’s a plan for everyone.

Bundled with membership, you can now buy Canary’s devices at reduced cost {or FREE} when purchasing either a year or two years of Canary membership upfront. For those looking to purchase $99 Canary View, they can get the device itself for free when purchasing a 2-year membership subscription upfront. Just want the Canary a la carte? Cameras can still be bought standalone— there are just more options for more people now!

You can check out all the plans and cameras available at Canary’s website