How long did you use a monitor?

I was having lunch last weekend with two friends whose kids are all older. I mentioned something about Rachel's monitor & they both looked at me like I was crazy. She still has rest time every day (only falls asleep about half the time) and we like to let her wake on her own in the morning (usually anywhere from 7:30 - 8:30) she is still in a crib so I need to know when she wakes. If I'm downstairs there is no wayto know if she is awake w/o the monitor - well, unless she is screaming hysterically :winking0009: . Is it unusual to be using a monitor still - she just turne 3 last month?

 

I can't see getting rid of our monitors anytime soon. I need it downstairs!

 

My kids' bedrooms are across the house from mine, so we will use monitors for a while. I used one for my son, who is now 9, until just a few years ago. They are handy to have around. My mom and her husband used one at their house for each other so when she was in her office working and he needed her (he wasn't well), he could just tell her over the monitor instead of yelling all the time.

 

I never used monitors with my kids. We are in a single story house, and I've developed super sonic hearing. If I were in a two story house, I would probably use them. If it makes you feel more comfortable about your kids' safety, then continue using them.

 

We didnt use our moniters for very long at all. My house is quite small and open plan so i can hear them everywhere i go x

 

We actually just started using ours again after not using it for approx 18 months because we've started spending more time outside on the patio after they go to sleep and also because we've re-purposed a room upstairs where we hang out more often, and we can't hear them from either of those places. I don't like sitting out on the patio after they go to bed knowing that if the girls were in their rooms screaming their heads off for some reason, illness or what have you, that I couldn't hear them. I think it all depends on your set up -- if we were still in our open floorplan condo that we were in last year, we wouldn't be using them any more, but in our 2-story house with patio on the opposite side from their room, we definitely need it on occasion.

 

We are in a one-story small place and never used the monitor at all. It is still boxed up in the kids closet!

 

I'm thinking 18 would be a good age to stop using it.

Our bedroom is kind of far from the boys' room, so we would never hear them waking up if not for the monitor. We won't be getting rid of ours any time soon.

I don't think you should feel pressured to put it away. If it makes your life easier and creates a safer environment for your DD, there's no reason to stop using it.

Michelel

 

I still use mine (16 months old) and honestly I dont see getting rid of them before 3. We have a second story house so I need it for downstairs but I also have one in bedroom for at nite.

 

I'll be using one with the twins for awhile! I go out to the backyard and will need to be able to here them. Mine even picks up people talking in other rooms. So I will be able to tell if they are wondering. Right now they can't climb out of their cribs.

 

Our house is small and all one level, so we've actually never used one. When the girls first started sleeping in their own room (at 4 months) I had one for a few weeks, but I could hear every snort and snuffle, and it drove me nuts. Finally I decided if they were crying I'd hear them, and if they weren't crying, I didn't need to!

But in your situation, it sounds like it's meeting a need. It is helpful to know when she wakes up without her having to scream for you. So don't worry about what other people think.

 

Our house is kind of large so I plan on using it for a while more. I agree, with them in a crib, I need to know when they are up. They are either waking too early or may need a paci that fell, or whatever. I don't even touch the receiver- they are constantly on, so it is not a hassle. We have one receiver in our bedroom and the other in the kitchen downstairs.

 

I still use ours and have no plans to stop anytime soon. Their room is upstairs and I wouldn't be able to hear them if I was downstairs or out on the patio.

 

still using ours here. i've also heard of mom's using it while kids are out and they are inside or she is in garden and they are inside playing. I will use ours for a long time. I don't use mine daily but there are times that I want to know what's going on in the crib...

 

I just gave my never used monitor to my neice for her new baby. Our house is small, the girls are in the room right next to ours...and my ears are very sensitive to every little whimper so I never needed it.

 

QUOTE(greymom @ Jul 12 2007, 12:31 PM) [snapback]327877[/snapback]
I'm thinking 18 would be a good age to stop using it.


Totally agree!!

We still use ours because we can't hear them from the living room, or when we go downstairs to watch a movie.

 

Not only do we have a monitor but, we have cameras on each crib so we can see what is going on at all times!!

 

I like age 18 ... I have a video monitor and I figure I'll need to keep tabs on them.

 

The only reason we stopped using a monitor in Caity's room was that we couldn't have 2 running without interference. Now it's in Ben & Chloe's room and Caity yells loud enough to hear her 2 floors away! We keep one reciever in our room and one in the basement. I think it will be there for quite a while yet.

 

I agree with greymom, 18 sounds good to me We have video monitors & we'll be using these for a long, long time.

 

Mine will turn 3 in Sept. and we still use them. Their bedrooms are upstairs, and ours is downstairs. It is the only way to hear when they wake up! It also helps me tell whats going on if they are upstairs playing while I am downstairs doing laundry...etc.

 

We still use ours especially since we moved to our house...I can plug it in outside and work in the front yard when they nap.

Now that we finally converted the cribs into toddler beds I actually been relying on it again to see if they are into any mischief.

 

Stop at 18?? I was actually planning to send them to college with video monitors, people!

 

Still do, it is on at Nap time in the living room and Nighttime in my bedroom. I will continue to use them until they are in toddler beds and they come to me or DH as soon as they wake.

 

We are still using our at 19m adn I really really want a video monitor. Now that they are out of cribs and free to do what they want I want to see what they are doing.

 

My girls are 3 & we still use them. The media room is soundproofed so if we are in there, we can't hear. I frequently clean the kitchen at night & during naptime so I couldn't hear them over running water if not for the monitors. I stopped using the video monitors because the volume was not loud enough & it was hard to have 2 cameras plugged in & framing both girls in their beds. The girls kept pulling at the cords & pulling them off the bachelor's chest. The battery operated audio monitor is much better for us.

 

Don't gasp in disbelief, but I never used monitors.

 

I think how long you use monitors and whether you need them at all depends mostly on the configuration of your house (and partly on your need to know what they're up to). For us, monitors are essential until, at the very least, they're in regular beds and able to come tell us if there is a problem. They can literally be screaming in their room and I'll only barely be able to hear them if there is little other noise. If the washing machine is running, I won't be able to hear them at all in 75% of the house. It's not that the house is massive, it's the acoustics. Having a central staircase really cuts down on noise transmission between levels as does whatever soundproofing material they used in the floor.

Anyway, you'll find that some mommies are quite judgmental when it comes to things they view as advancements. I'm already getting flack about using crib tents instead of switching to beds and they're not even 2 yet.

 

I don't intend to stop using a monior ever. We first got a cheap one cause I didn't think it was worth the money. Well, we did use it a lot. So when the cheap one broke down, I went and bought a fancy one cause I know how useful it's been for us. Our house isn't all that big but I can't hear them from the family room, so we need them for the bedroom. The monitor even comes handy for DH and I to pass on comments instead of having to walk over. I just feel more calm if I can hear what they are up to.

 

I still use mine for my 5 yr old and, of course, my 2 yr old twins. I can't see getting rid of either any time soon. The one in my 5 yr old's room gets plenty of use as I can tell her to lay down on her bed and go to sleep. She thinks I'm all-seeing even though she knows what monitors do!