# How many of you use/used a Baby Monitor? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 24, 2006, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-use-used-a-baby-monitor/341438 "2006-01-24T20:15:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-use-used-a-baby-monitor/341438/1 "2006-01-24T20:15:40Z")
That pretty much says it. Inspired by the thread about the baby monitor that gets lousy reception…or whatever…I’m curious. Do all parents use the baby monitor or just those with babies who are in a high-risk category (preemies, etc.)? I would think those types of monitors are more than just a radio. They didn’t have them back when Kid Kalhoun was a baby, and frankly, I don’t know of too many babies who cry so softly that you wouldn’t hear them. How long do you continue to use one? Thanks, all! ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-use-used-a-baby-monitor/341438/2 "2006-01-24T20:19:45Z")
When our first child was born, she slept in a large walk-in closet, and we slept up a winding flight of stairs. We used one to be able to hear her when (not if!) she woke in the night. It wasn’t high quality, but plenty high enough to pick up when she cried. I don’t remember how long we used it for - she’s applying to grad school now, so it was a while ago. ---
**Author:** ![Trion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Trion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trion)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-use-used-a-baby-monitor/341438/3 "2006-01-24T20:24:12Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > They didn’t have them back when Kid Kalhoun was a baby, and frankly, I don’t know of too many babies who cry so softly that you wouldn’t hear them. Our family room is in the basement. After the littlest Trion goes to sleep, we may go down and watch TV. She could scream bloody murder and we’d never hear her. The monitor works great. We don’t need one in the bedroom. We can hear her fine from there. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-use-used-a-baby-monitor/341438/4 "2006-01-24T20:24:32Z")
We did when the little ones were, um, little. It eases that sense of dread that comes from not hearing every squeak the child makes. Also, we picked up the neighbor’s cellphone conversations. She was seeing a married man. Peace of Mind + Free Soap Opera. What’s not to like? ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-use-used-a-baby-monitor/341438/5 "2006-01-24T20:28:11Z")
We used one - replaced it even, when it broke. We have a finished basement and the bedrooms are upstairs - two flights up. Even so, we used it when we were on the same floor. It was fun to hear his little noises. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-use-used-a-baby-monitor/341438/6 "2006-01-24T20:34:13Z")
We used one too. Very useful. And just comforting being able to hear her breathing away. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-use-used-a-baby-monitor/341438/7 "2006-01-24T20:43:07Z")
> [@saoirse](#): > > We did when the little ones were, um, little. It eases that sense of dread that comes from not hearing every squeak the child makes. Also, we picked up the neighbor’s cellphone conversations. She was seeing a married man. Peace of Mind + Free Soap Opera. What’s not to like? I had the opposite problem. I heard every squeak when he was sleeping in the same room as me, so I moved him out to the kitchen. I wasn’t able to get a decent night’s sleep because every. little. sound woke me up. The doctor told me when Kid Kalhoun really needs me, I’ll know it. However, the soap opera would have swayed me to the monitor corner! Did you know which neighbor was having the affair?? ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-use-used-a-baby-monitor/341438/8 "2006-01-24T20:55:22Z")
> [@Caricci](#): > > It was fun to hear his little noises. Worth the price alone. But indespensible none the less. The only way I could do yard work, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Nightingale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecae2f/32.png) [@Nightingale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightingale)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-use-used-a-baby-monitor/341438/9 "2006-01-24T21:00:39Z")
We used one until Sam was about 9 months old; I could easily hear him crying in the night, but I liked to be able to hear him breathing if I happened to wake up. It was an easy way of checking on him without actually getting out of bed. We stopped using it when he kept grabbing the cord and pulling on it (it was on the windowsill near his crib). Also, he snores so loudly that I can hear him without the monitor. He’s not quite a year old and sounds like a freaking buzz saw! ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-use-used-a-baby-monitor/341438/10 "2006-01-24T21:01:16Z")
> [@NurseCarmen](#): > > Worth the price alone. But indespensible none the less. The only way I could do yard work, etc. Ah, yes…in which I harken back to the story my husband brought home from work. It seems his co-worker didn’t want to leave the baby alone while he cut the grass. So he laid the baby in the grass and commenced with the mowing. The mower kicked up a rock and put it through the baby’s eye. The mind boggles. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-use-used-a-baby-monitor/341438/11 "2006-01-24T21:33:08Z")
We always suspected it was the woman next door. She rented her house and I saw her kiss her landlord once. We did have to invent a lot of the details. That was fun, too, though. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-use-used-a-baby-monitor/341438/12 "2006-01-24T21:52:41Z")
It was nice to be able to close our door and still be able to hear the kid. And I used to take it out into the yard to work outside during naps. I’ve known more than one person who just never took it out of the room, and was therefore able to keep an ear out for trouble while kids were over playing (say you have 3 6-yos in there and they want the door shut, etc.). You can hear some great conversations that way, get a lot of good laughs! ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-use-used-a-baby-monitor/341438/13 "2006-01-24T22:00:26Z")
We used a Baby monitor with Child #1 and it was occasionally handy. Especially when sitting at the pool in are old house and we wanted to here when she woke up from her afternoon nap. Somehow, with Child #2 we just did not use it much at all. In addition, our current house has no pool. We were so much more diligent and careful with the first child. I think every old adage about first time parents was true with us. Jim ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-use-used-a-baby-monitor/341438/14 "2006-01-24T22:46:38Z")
While I was babysitting The Monster, I used one. The problem is that babies are not bi-stable with only two states, asleep and crying. When the baby is climbing out of the crib, or playing with field-expedient fingerpaints, it’s usually something that the caregiver would prefer to be able to monitor, and with the baby monitor it was possible to allow the child to nap away from where the adult was - and still have some assurance of being able to recognize when the baby woke, and could start getting into trouble again. ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-use-used-a-baby-monitor/341438/15 "2006-01-24T22:56:24Z")
Never did use one, mainly because there was no need in a small apartment and in the new place I can hear him if he really needs me. I can hear him playing by himself in the next room long before he decides he doesn’t want to be in his crib any longer. ---
**Author:** ![Stainz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Stainz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stainz)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-use-used-a-baby-monitor/341438/16 "2006-01-25T00:31:01Z")
Our house is pretty small and I am surprised at how handy this little monitor is (even though yes I am the one who posted about the annoying-as-hell interference that has started lately!). For some reason you just can’t hear well from room to room. Plus we have to keep the baby’s door closed because our cat is OBSESSED with Sophia’s room. Our daughter is just 3 months old and not very loud yet - I worry about not hearing her when she needs me, if I’m sleeping soundly. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-use-used-a-baby-monitor/341438/17 "2006-01-25T06:29:14Z")
My parents used one long after I left the little feathered nest - so they could hear when the washer and dryer were done in the laundry room. What? Oh, sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-use-used-a-baby-monitor/341438/18 "2006-01-25T06:58:28Z")
I still use one, and my son’s almost three (omg, my kid’s almost three…). It’s fun waking up to his conversations (with himself, the wall, a toy…), or hearing him sing to himself when he’s bored. I can’t really check on him during naptime because he’s such a light sleeper, so the monitor lets me know when he’s awake and ready to get up. I’m not sure how much longer we’ll use it. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-use-used-a-baby-monitor/341438/19 "2006-01-25T07:12:46Z")
We got one as a shower gift, but never really used it. We have a small-ish, one store house. We could hear him cry anywhere we were. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-use-used-a-baby-monitor/341438/20 "2006-01-25T15:30:40Z")
Absolutely I used one when Kid2U was a wee one - it was indispensible. I was a pretty paranoid mom to begin with, and when I couldn’t hear him, I freaked. That was a long time ago - yesterday, he took his first Driver’s Ed Class. ☹ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-use-used-a-baby-monitor/341438.md?page=2)