When Do You Stop Using a Monitor?

Hi J.,

They are still little. Just to on the safe side I would keep it a bit longer. Sometime they get up in the middle of the night. I would like to hear them. :)

Hi! Without reading all the other replies, I just wanted to say that my son is 6 1/2 and we still use it at night while he's sleeping. It's just easier to hear him if he needs me - he has asthma and a few times he has gotten sick (vomit) or something in bed and if it wasn't for the monitor I would not have been able to hear him clearly as I did. I don't see any reason to get rid of it until you feel as a parent that it is time to get rid of it (probably early teen years huh? LOL!) Hope that helps!

Having experienced spontaneous vomiting several times with my kids, I'd say keep using it for as long as you are comfortable with it. I think it would become a privacy issue when the child is at least old enough to have her own telephone conversations in her room... at 2 years I doubt there are many doing that!! LOL

I think it really depends on where the room she is sleeping in is located in relation to yours. Our boys are upstairs on the opposite end of the house from us. We sleep with a humidifier in our room and there is no way I could hear them calling for us (Because they are upstairs and we are downstairs, I do lock them in the room so they don't fall down the stairs if they try to come and get us at night - mind you we do live in a brand new home so the chance of fire is dramatically lower!!) But, as it seems others are saying, I think it is all dependent on your situation. As for me, I will probably have the monitor on until they are in late elementary school...or longer if we end up having a third boy and he is also in there! (I like the phone conversation rule someone else said!!)

Hang on to that monitor! My daughter is 4 1/2 years young and I still use it. During the summer time when she is down for a nap inside and I am outside the monitor is a life saver!!! She can be heard when waking up and in a flash I am there for her.

nah, I'd keep it, it's more security and something you're use to. My friends kids are 4 and 6 she still has one in both their rooms, if she's downstairs she can hear things better. If she's sleeping, she knows the monitor will definately wake her up if need be, so she sleeps more sound in between not feeling like you have to sleep on eggshells to make sure you hear them, You're girls are still so little.

My son is over 3, I stopped a while ago because our apartment was sooo tiny, but I just moved into a bigger house and am digging them out again to have one in his room. It's like an extra ear that will work over and above any other noise in the house that may have your attention so wny not keep it as long as possible.

My girls have to share a room and they are 8 and 2 1/2 years old. The oldest was 5 1/2 before her sister was born and I was still using the monitor at night. My plan is to have them as long as possible. The 8 yo is moving to the only upstairs room we have and I plan on putting a monitor up there for night time. That way if she needs me she can just talk to the monitor. I don't think it is a privacy issue just yet and only to help you know if they are sleeping, sick, scared, whatever. A.

what is the rush to get rid of it? My son is 3 and I would rather have the monitor on just on case, God forbid, something happens in the middle of the night. Especially now that she is in her big girl bed. Would you hear her if she got out? Or fell out?? There have been nights I've heard him get out of bed to use the bathroom, and times where he was very restless and started feeling ill in the middle of the night. He ended up having a temp of 103 which I would not have known if I didn't have the monitor on. If its not in the way, or takes up space, my thought is better safe than sorry .I certainly don't bring it with me when we go places, just in our home.
by no means am I one of those "nervous nelly" mom's. Maybe because we are deep sleepers , I'd prefer to have it on.
Good luck!

Hello J.,

You should do what you feel comfortable with, but I still use it for my 3 1/2 yo son. He has been in a "big-boy" bed for over a year (move him out before my 9 mo daughter was born). He will not get out of the bed once put in it and if he has to go to the bathroom at night there is no way I would know if I did not have the monitor (we have a big house and sleep with all of the doors shut). Over the last year we went through many a night when he called us in to either take him to the potty, comfort him after a nightmare or just tuck in his covers. But again as I said before, so what you are comfortable with it. Good luck.

My oldest is 8 and she shares a room with her 3 year old brother and I still use the monitor.
It comes down to your comfort level.

My son is two and we stopped using his monitor a while ago. I found myself listening to his every breath, snore, snuffle and sound on the monitor. It would freak me out and keep me up all night! So we ditched the monitor and figured if there was something wrong, he would call out for us. The master bedroom is not far from his room and he's a pretty loud kid. It means a good night sleep for all of us!

My daughter is about to turn two and moving to a big girl bed and our second daughter will be born in June. I do not plan on giving the monitor up anytime soon and am just trying to figure out which system to purchase for both of them (really liked having the video). For me it is just a comfort to know that I can hear her clearly especially when she isn't feeling well. I sleep better with the monitor:-) If it's not in the way I say keep it for awhile. Good luck with kiddies!

Yes, or at least put it away. We kept it around to sometimes use it when one of the kids got sick or once our daughter requested it because she was scared of monsters. My kids are loud so they just scream for me!

I barely used mine in the first place. My son was in a crib in our room until he was over 2 and we moved him into a regular bed in his room. At that point I was pregnant and peeing many times a night. His bedroom is next to both the bathroom and our bedroom so I could check on him often. Also we are in an apartment so we can hear him from almost anywhere. And I am a light sleeper and an insomniac. It depends on where you live and on you and your child.

Lola and I must be soulmates...our little boy is just over four, and we still use the monitor. He has been known to barf all over the bed and make almost no sound at all, nor wake up crying. Without the monitor, I'd never know if he needed me, even if I was in the room right down the hall. He just isn't a yeller. Our house is small, but with the t.v. on I'm just not sure that I'd hear him even if he called for me, so we keep using it. It does feel a bit funny, to tell you the truth, but it brings peace of mind.

Do what's comfortable!

almost five and still using it. i don't think i'll stop using it for a long while. it doesn't bother me one bit having it on and puts my mind at ease. also, i have had instances when one would get sick and just whimper lightly in sleep. i'd hear it, and i'd go and check just to find feverish kids.
i also have a monitor set up in living room, and playroom :)

I still use a monitor for my 3 & 6 yr old girls that share a room. We keep the receiver in the living room just to keep an "ear" on things when they are playing in their room during the day. We can hear from our bedroom if anything goes wrong during the night. The monitor makes it easier to hear & determine if we are hearing normal playing noises, or cries that require parental intervention.
Keep using it.

Hi J.,
Thanks for asking this question. I was just considering this myself. I have a 3 year old son. After reading your responses, I can see that it truly is what you're comfortable with. I think I'm going to keep mine for a little while longer. My son won't get out of bed once we put him in it, so being able to hear him is important. I don't think it's unreasonable to keep it awhile longer, especially if it gives you peace of mind.

J.,
My brother, sister and I were not bad kids. That being said, we did get into stuff. Were my Mom to have had a monitor, she'd have had it on 24/7.

I'd say conservatively, when she's sick, or if she isn't sleeping through the night yet? Whenever you are comfortable.

I wind up checking to see if my son is breathing. :| :)

Good luck,
M.

I still use it in my going on 4 year old. I want to be able to hear him if he coughs and is getting sick, if something falls, if he gets up, etc. I guess it depends on what you want to hear and what you can hear in your house. I also love to hear him singing and talking to his stuffed *kitty* as he is falling asleep, it is so sweet. Both have been in big beds since 18 mos and I just have never even thought of removing the monitor. A few times we have been without and I slept fine, so I would just follow your instincts, if the noise from the monitor bothers you, try it off for a night

Unless the room is extremely far from yours, such as on a different floor, or if you are a very hard sleeper and wouldn't hear her get up, it was "time" a long time ago.

Yes, I should think so. If she is in a big girl bed she can just come get you if she needs you in the night. I stopped using monitors with my kids around age 2. We now only use it if we are staying away from home, somewhere unfamiliar.