Moms, When Did You Stop Using the Baby Monitor at Night?

My oldest two boys are 6 and 3, and we still use an audio monitor in their room, mainly because my 3 year year old occasionally has a bad dream or an accident and his reaction to both of those things is to cry, rather than to come get us. You'd think the 6 year old could help out, but he's an incredibly deep sleeper and usually sleeps right through the crying, the comforting, and any changing of the sheets that has to be done! So we have no plans to stop using the monitor yet!

I just stopped using mine in February with my daughter... she is 5 in January. lol we have a new baby and 2 monitors interfered.

If you have the same video monitor as I do you can buy another camera for the new babies room and set one on channel A and the other on channel B and then you can flip between the two with the one monitor. If it makes you feel better to watch both then do it!

How did we ever parent before baby monitors??!

What? You mean, some moms DON'T monitor their kids until they leave for college!?! Well, I guess I'll be first! :-)

Those video/audio monitors, are addictive, seriously. I mean, talk about knowing too much. I hear/see every roll, yawn, snore, everything...yet, I cannot even imagine a world without my monitor! I need it and during nap and bed I carry it with me everywhere. My son is 3 and I am expecting another, and already I am looking for another monitor for my second since I cannot bear the idea of having no monitor for my first.

I'm still using my monitor, and my child just turned three. I'm a pretty heavy sleeper, and it gives me a little comfort at night. Why not?

I would use it as long as you feel like you need too. Our son is right down the hall from us - so when we put him in a big boy bed (about 2 1/2) we stopped using the monitor - he either yells for us or comes and gets us if he needs us. If he were upstairs I might still use one. I'm a big believer in doing whatever will put your mind at ease - if you're more comfortable having a monitor in his room then have one! And congrats on the new baby!

Both of our kids' bedrooms are upstairs and ours is downstairs. I still use the monitors in their rooms and they are 5 and 3.

My children share a room, and my oldest is 11. Due to medical issues that are present we still have an audio monitor. I believe that it depends on the situations in your home, and your comfort level. If you are comfortable with no monitor, then go for it. A thought: when your newest one arrives, and you are sleep deprived, on the occasion that you do get to sleep, you might sleep harder. ;)

I'm with Bethany. Since he is on a different floor, I would monitor him until he was probably 4 or 5.

I never used a baby monitor for my kids. For me, it is a moot point because a baby monitor does no good if I am sleeping, and I am not going to stay up all night staring at a monitor watching my baby sleep! If your baby cries in the middle of the night, you will be able to hear him, even though he is upstairs - just keep both of your bedroom doors open. I kept my babies in my room until they were 3 months - then put them in their rooms and that was that. Your son is way too old to continue using a baby monitor! Lose the monitor and get some sleep!

My kids are 3 and 5, and we use a monitor for each of their rooms. I have no plans to stop any time soon! It's just handy if they wake up and have a bad dream or need to go potty. Especially since you're on a different floor from your son, I would keep using it if I was you!

Congrats on your new baby!

I"d say about 5. My 4 year old wakes about 1 x week with need to potty, bad dream etc.

i still have one in my almost 3.5 yr old's room...it is rarely on, but it also has a very dim light on it and it is a good night light. I have it in there and it is the same brand as his little brother's (almost 2) so one receiver can pick up both signals and i can flip between the two. I really don't need either of them, but it is nice to have in there in the day when they are playing upstairs and i am cooking downstairs...with 2 boys, noise and hearing it is a good thing!!
It is just an extra set of ears at this point. I don't worry about them at night, but like you...it is a good thing to keep an eye on! ;0) I don't have a video and am glad i don't!! I think that may be addicting to watch.

Ours is still plugged in in our 3.5 yr old room it has a nice dull light so we use it as a night light. I have taken the other part outside with me on the rare occasion that he is still sleeping when my 8 yr old needs to go wait for the bus but that is very very very rare but other then that we haven't regularly used it as a monitor since about 18 months old and that was just during naps.

My son was also 2 1/2 when the new baby was born. Like you, we wondered if he was ready to sleep without the monitor. We didn't turn it on for a few nights before we moved it out of his room. He did fine without it (and so did we - although it was more of an adjustment for us). We probably could have stopped using it even sooner. Other factors to consider in your decision are will he call out if he needs something, will he get out of bed on his own, how far apart are the bedrooms, how thick are the walls, and does he tend to need something in the middle of the night. Hope that helps.

Our bedroom is downstairs and the kids rooms are upstairs. My daughter is 4.5 and we took the monitor out of her room around 3-ish I think. I realized if they needed me I could hear them calling. Despite being two floors our house is not that big. Also, my daughter has been able to come down the stairs to us if she needs us since about 3-3.5 so having a monitor for her seemed pointless. My son turned 2 the end of September. He is gated into his room, but the monitor has been removed for a few months now. He moves around a lot when he sleeps and the sounds of him rolling into the wall and the sides of his toddler bed were disturbing my sleep. I know that sounds bad. lol I would hear him moving around and I kept thinking he was going to wake up any second so I couldn't go back to sleep. Once I turned off the monitor, it was easier to sleep. I thought I'd want to keep the monitor in with them forever, but it hasn't been that bad. If they really need me at this point, they will call. My son mostly sleeps through so it's no big deal anyway.

So I would just go with your comfort level. My daughter was 27 months when my son arrived. We bought the same exact monitor (audio only) and used them on different frequencies. At some point my son was sleeping in our room and his room and I needed 2 monitors to hear him and that's why we stole the one in my daughter's room. She was already coming downstairs to us when she needed us at night so the monitor seemed pointless.

Congrats on the new addition!

I still monitor my 3 1/2 yo DD and I also montior my 15m old DS - but when my youngest came along, DD was 2, and we purchased just an audio monitor for her and used the video monitor for the baby... My DD does not know that we have a monitor in her room, it's hidden on the top of her shelf, and we plan on keeping it until it becomes a matter of privacy as well... but if my husband has his way, she'll have it until college!

All of our kiddos are upstairs, while our room is downstairs. We still use monitors for our 3 and 1 year old....since my 5 year old is able to come down stairs all by himself if needed (like when he's feeling sick, etc.) I didn't purchase a 3rd one. I do like being able to hear them during naptimes and bedtimes. Just makes me feel at ease. I'd love to have monitors for all my kiddos but just wasn't wanting to spend money on 3!

I must be the only parent that doesn't use monitors. We have one that we will use if we work outside in the yard while our youngest naps but besides that, it's never on.

Do you use it b/c your worried he'll wake up and go downstairs? You could always put a gate at the top of the stairs.

I used mine until it broke! I think it was more for my sanity that theirs. I liked to be able to hear if they needed anything (I have twin girls). Looking back on it now, I would say that a monitor is necessary until little ones are out of their cribs and into big kid beds. That way they can come to you if they need something in the night, and not cry without being heard!

My dd is almost 2 and I agree with you TiaBia. College sounds like a good cut off time. LOL. I still use the monitor. My dd is amazing at getting into trouble. I heard her whimper through the monitor not too long ago and went to check on her. Come to find out...she had pulled a box over and couldn't get herself free. Needless to say, those boxes were removed right away.
I have other issues, though. I had gone through a miscarriage several years before, another lifetime really. I had totally given up on having children altogether and then was blessed with my little independent dd. I plan on keeping the monitor on until it becomes a matter of privacy.
Congrats on both your children.

I used mine with my daughter until she was 2.5. Her room is right next to ours but we both sleep with a fan on in our room so I was worried I wouldnt' hear her and she slept with her door closed until she was 2.5 (now the door is open).

If my children were on a different floor, I'd keep the monitor in their room until about age 5/6. Then I've move it into the hallway or bathroom so if they were really upset, you could hear them but then it is far enough away that they can have privacy as they are getting older.

Until he was about 2 1/2, that was also when my new baby came as well, so I used the monitor for the new baby once we stopped co--sleeping with him.

Well, my DD's room is right down the hall and I stopped using the monitor at 17 mos. If I were in your situation though, I'd probably stick with the monitor since he's so far away.

My daughter is 3 1/2 and we still use the monitor in case she needs something . She'll call out in the middle of the night if she needs anything rather than roaming the house. I would rather have the monitor than have her wandering around the house in the dark. I would keep it until you feel comfortable. I don't know when I'll give up the monitor. I don't imagine that happening anytime soon. High school maybe?