We do and I see the monitor being on for years ahead quite frankly! I like to know what's going on when I'm not in the room.

I'm asking because my good friend who has a 2 1/2yr old and a 6mth old rarely if ever uses a monitor and it freaks me out! They sleep with all bedroom doors open at night (which all of ours are closed), so maybe that helps, because the only way I would hear Nat at night is if my doors were open.

We both have ranch-style homes, but unless Natalie is SCREAMING, I can't hear anything when I'm on the other end of the house.

Just curious if/how long you used a monitor? I was just surprised when I realized she doesn't use one.

By Reds9298 on Sunday, January 7, 2007 - 09:29 pm:

By years ahead, I mean 5-6. If she's being mean to a friend that's playing in her room I want to know it!

By Heaventree on Sunday, January 7, 2007 - 09:42 pm:

I have one, but I can't use it, it picks up a local radio station. If anyone knows how to fix it please tell me.

Our other problem is both kids constantly un-plug it. I would have to buy a safety cover to keep them from taking it out of the outlet all the time. Right now it's plugged into the saftey night light plug, they can pull the cord out but not put anything into it.

So we have been without for about 3 months now and have managed just fine, but I'm like you I like to be able to hear what's going on when I'm not in the room. But really when you think about it our moms didn't have monitors so I don't think they are a absolute.

By Dawnk777 on Sunday, January 7, 2007 - 09:51 pm:

We moved into a lower flat, when my kids were 3 and 1. There bedroom was maybe 6 feet away from ours. I don't think we ever used the monitor again, when we moved into that house. It was pretty small.

By Tink on Sunday, January 7, 2007 - 10:24 pm:

I haven't used one for a couple of years. The bedrooms in our last house were very close together so I could hear them when they cried. Now the master bedroom is across the house from the children's but they are old enough to come get me, if needed.

By Reds9298 on Sunday, January 7, 2007 - 10:25 pm:

Heaven - I've thought about that many times...how our moms never had monitors. I always think "OMG!" I guess they didn't know what they were missing, and since it wasn't invented they never thought about it!

By Jjb on Sunday, January 7, 2007 - 10:52 pm:

I only use one when we're outside and my youngest is napping. I'm a light sleeper and wake up when they need me even with their doors closed. We keep our door open so I can hear them. I always use them when they are sick. I used a monitor with my oldest son until he was 4, but with my third we stopped using it when he was 1- funny how that works.

By Kate on Sunday, January 7, 2007 - 11:47 pm:

I used a monitor until about age six with my first and four with my second....

For those of you sleeping with doors open, that is a major fire hazard. If a fire breaks out it will take the easiest path of oxygen. If it roars up the hallway and finds bedroom doors open it will go right in. If the doors are closed it buys you some time to hear the smoke detector and get out. Please shut your doors!! Use those monitors until they're eighteen if you like, but shut the doors.

By Mommmie on Sunday, January 7, 2007 - 11:53 pm:

I never used a monitor.

By Kaye on Monday, January 8, 2007 - 02:12 am:

I used a monitor religiously until my oldest was 2 and youngest was just a few months. We were in an apartment (which meant I could probably of heard them without) but kept hearing "the baby" bry. I kept getting up to check on him and he was sleeping. For about the third time I hear him cry and then a lady say, "shh it's okay", I freaked, it wasn't my baby obviously, but I couldn't handle it.

We tried a monitor again when I had the little guy. I very clearly could hear my neighbors have conversations. So I only used it when I really really needed it. But I knew these neighbors and it was so weird to hear them talk...good thing it was never anything ugly said!

We sleep with doors closed and I have never not been there when one of the needed me (at least not that I know of). Even now they are pretty far from me, but I hear their footsteps, etc. I guess you just get used to hearing for certain things.

By Jackie on Monday, January 8, 2007 - 06:31 am:

I use my ALL the time. We have a two floor house. I have the monitor on the stairs. If Faith were to get up(shes still in a crib)I would never hear her. I dont want her to have to cry or yell just to get my attention. In the summer she will be in a big bed. Even then, I want to hear her when she gets up and out of bed.I am just way too paranoid not to use one. I use Monitors with the other kids, probably until they were 4.

By Cat on Monday, January 8, 2007 - 08:55 am:

We only used one if we were outside. Sounds traveled pretty well in the houses we lived in when the boys were babies. The monitor we had was a two channel monitor. When Randy was a baby we lived in a duplex and the neighbor's baby was a week younger than Randy. When my neighbor would come over while her dd was asleep she'd just use the second channel on our monitor to keep track of her because they had the same monitor!

By Bellajoe on Monday, January 8, 2007 - 09:05 am:

That's a really good question. I guess i stopped using it when they were maybe 3? I'm really not sure. We kept the one part of it in the kitchen so we could hear if they went to sleep after we left their rooms.
We all sleep with the bedroom doors open, and i have like Super mom hearing so if they made a noise in the middle of the night, i would hear it...even with out the monitor.
I think i might have stopped using it when i started hearing other peoples kids on the monitor.

There was one day when i was at my sister's house. She had her monitor on and we heard EVERY WORD of someone's phone conversation. It was really funny to us. I remember the two ladies talking. The one was REALLY glad that her house guest had finally left! LOL We felt bad eavesdropping and eventually turned it off.

By Jtsmom on Monday, January 8, 2007 - 09:31 am:

I use mine all of the time. It never goes off! I have always heard of shutting the doors at night, which I do my little one, but my 6 yr old freaks out even in the day time if his door gets shut.

By Trina~moderator on Monday, January 8, 2007 - 10:12 am:

My kids are 8 & 10. We always used monitors when they were little, and still do if/when they are sick or having an asthma flare. We have a two story house and even though the bedrooms are all on the 2nd floor the master bedroom is on the opposite end of the house and we can't hear what's going on in the DK's rooms.

By Debbie on Monday, January 8, 2007 - 10:33 am:

I don't use a monitor anymore. My dks are 6 and 8. We used one until we moved to Chicago. My dks were 3 and 5 at the time. Our bedrooms in that house were all right next to each other, so I always heard them. In our new house, their bedrooms are in front, and ours is in back, but they are big enough that they just come get me if they wake up, which is rare. When they are sick, I seem to sleep light, and I hear them if they get up.