Precisely Track Your Baby’s Growth with the Best Baby Scales
Only a parent can understand the happiness of watching a baby grow. Every little inch of height and every pound of weight gain is exciting, and regular tracking makes it even more special. During the first few weeks, even pediatricians recommend tracking weight gain to make sure it’s healthy and on track. Parents also use it to maintain proper nutrition intake in infants, which makes baby scales a must-have in today’s day and age.
But, infant weight scales aren’t as simple as they used to be. Aside from the big distinction of mechanical vs. digital, you’ve also got tons of features and options such as smart connectivity, and being able to collect, store, or send precise data through mobile applications. As a caregiver, finding the right model isn’t easy, but we’re here to help you out. Here’s a list of our favorite baby scales of 2024!
Buying Guide: Baby Scales
Babies grow in height and weight very rapidly, gaining about one ounce of weight per day. It’s important to keep a watchful eye on their progress to make sure it occurs at a healthy pace. According to UNICEF’s guidelines, children should be weighed regularly to assess growth from birth to 2 years of age. This allows doctors to ensure that the baby is being fed in appropriate proportions and is getting the optimal amount of nutritional intake.
For this, you need a reliable baby scale to take frequent (and accurate) readings. But, what model should you buy? Well, considering the overcrowding in today’s market, that’s an excellent question. Here are some important features you should look for to make a well-informed purchase!
Ease of Cleaning
Cleaning is always a key concern when you’re dealing with babies and toddlers, or at least it should be. You never know when they might drop their feeders or spit out some food after a feeding. If not those accidents, there’s always a risk of diaper blowouts or spilled milk. Keeping all this in consideration, you need a baby scale that’s very easy to clean — ideally, you’ll just need to wipe it to restore its squeaky-clean look.
We’d recommend staying away from inconvenient scale designs that feature comfort pads or fancy-looking nooks and crannies, as they’ll always be a nightmare to clean up.
Tare Function
The tare function in baby scales allows you to measure your baby’s weight accurately, even with a blanket wrapped around them. You simply need to place the blanket on the scale first and then press the “tare” button to reset the scale to zero, after which you can comfortably place your baby on the blanket to get an accurate weight reading. This way, your baby doesn’t have to lay bare on the cold surface of your scale and you still get a precise measurement.
This feature is also useful when it comes to measuring meals, as it offsets the weight of the bowl or plate and gives you an accurate weight measurement of the food alone.
Large Display
Unless you’re a fan of bending over and getting up close to your scale just to note a reading each time, you need a large and bright display that’s easy to read — even while you’re standing up. This feature becomes even more important if the baby’s grandparents plan on using it!
Battery Operation
Let’s be honest, no one wants to deal with annoying cords and cables every day to get a weight measurement.
Instead, you want a scale that’s battery-powered, giving you the much-needed flexibility of being able to move it around the house without worrying about wires and power outlets. Plus, wires and nearby power outlets can also make the whole ordeal dangerous for your little one.
Comparing the Most Effective Baby Scale of 2024
MomMed Baby Scale – Best Overall
The MomMed Baby Scale can provide weight measurements of objects ranging between 0.1 to 220 pounds. With its relatively high accuracy ratings, you can reliably weigh infants and toddlers to track their growth regularly. You can even use it to weigh your pet to make sure they’re at a healthy BMI or to track their weight gain or loss as per the vet’s guidelines — the options are endless.
Aside from that, the low minimum weight range also helps with meal prep for babies (or fitness enthusiasts) to track their nutritional intake. The scale’s “hold” function comes in handy when dealing with active babies, as it’s designed to keep the readings stable on the screen despite constant movements, making it easier for parents to note them down. It’s also the most affordable option on this list which, when combined with its various features and exceptional quality, makes this baby scale easily our top choice overall!
Pros
- Wide range of weight measurement
- Excellent multi-purpose functionality
- Easy-to-read display
Cons
- Hold feature isn’t very effective
Beurer Baby Scale – Most Popular
The Beurer Baby Scale prides itself on being highly user-friendly, and its popularity seems to prove that claim! Through its high-precision sensors, the scale can provide weight readings of up to 44 pounds. Most of all, we love that it’s carefully designed to have no sharp edges, making it very safe for your precious baby.
Additionally, this baby scale has non-slip rubber feet under it that grip the floor. They won’t easily get damaged or scratched up against the surface, either, as they’re abrasion-resistant. The scale runs on two AA batteries that are included in the packet, which last fairly long thanks to the auto switch-off option that works wonders for energy conservation. It also has a tare function, which can automatically subtract the weight of stuff like baby blankets, bowls, or plates to zero out the scale to provide accurate readings.
Pros
- Very easy to clean
- Auto-off feature for battery conservation
- Tare function works well
Cons
- Accuracy has room for improvement
Greater Goods Baby Scale – Smart Design
Not many parents would describe themselves as tech-savvy. If that’s the case with you, the Greater Goods Baby Scale will serve you right. Its level of simplicity is impressive for a smart scale that connects directly with your phone through an app! But don’t worry, the setup process isn’t as intimidating as it sounds.
You’re just a few taps away from having all the weight-tracking data automatically stored and transmitted to your mobile device, and the app automatically creates graphs to make data analysis even easier. With this scale, you won’t have to physically take note of readings — the scale and smart connectivity does it all for you. And, if you have any trouble with this baby scale, there’s a super helpful support team to help you out every step of the way.
Pros
- Smart functionality with a mobile app
- Easy to connect
- Great customer support
Cons
- Some may struggle with the initial setup
Smart Weigh Baby Scale – Longest Warranty
The Smart Weight Baby Scale is another digital scale for babies and infants, featuring a curved platform with a smooth and large surface to comfortably cradle your little one! It provides relatively accurate readings and is backed by a generous two-year warranty period, which is a testament to its build quality and longevity.
With no WiFi connectivity or app integration to worry about, this baby scale is one of the simplest and easiest-to-use models listed here. Just lay it on a flat surface, turn it on, and rest your baby on the tray. You can even lay a blanket beforehand and press the “tare” button to offset its weight to measure the baby’s weight precisely, all without sacrificing comfort or safety. For added convenience, it comes with three batteries included and has a low-battery indicator to let you know when they need replacement.
Pros
- User-friendly with very simple operation
- Long warranty term of two years
- Provides precise measurements
Cons
- Comparatively pricey
AccuMed Baby Scale – Popular Brand
Lastly, we have the AccuMed Baby Scale. It’s probably the only brand name that you might have heard of before reading this article, earning it our popularity award. Aside from reliability, however, this scale has a rich collection of features to improve your overall user experience. It can not only weigh infants and adults within a high range of up to 200 pounds, but even tracks a baby’s height up to about 27.5 inches.
The scale has a large and bright LED display on the front that’s super easy to read, which means even grandparents can take readings without having to bend over. Like some of the other models listed above, this one also has a tare function that works smoothly. If you run into any problems, feel free to redeem the 30-day money-back guarantee or the one-year manufacturer’s warranty for any further malfunctions down the line.
Pros
- AccuMed Biotech provides lifetime technical support
- Can even measure adults’ weight
- Large, bright, and easily readable LCD
Cons
- Lacks a hold function
People Also Asked
A: It’s recommended to calibrate your baby’s weighing scale at least once every week. You can check if it needs calibration by weighing a standard weight to make sure it returns a precise reading, and if not, you might want to calibrate it.
A: No, adult scales aren’t sufficiently accurate to take weight measurements of infants. That’s because even the most premium adult scales can only provide readings that are accurate to about half a pound — which may be negligible for 150+ pound persons, but pretty substantial for a 10-pound baby.
A: Yes, one of the most common causes of malfunctions in scales and inaccuracies in measurements is low battery power in digital baby scales. For optimal functioning, the components and sensors inside a scale need to get adequate power.
A: It’s recommended to weigh your baby at the same time every day, and experts recommend doing it right after or just before a feeding session.
A: Yes, but with compromised accuracy. You can use the “holding baby” method to get a rough estimate on an adult scale. The idea is to weigh yourself with and without your baby in your hands, with the difference between the readings roughly representing your baby’s weight.
