Hi everyone. Does anyone know how long you should use a baby monitor for?

i never used it at all since he was either asleep (silent) or awake (screaming). no monitor neccessary to work that out.

I still have on in ds room for when he is ill-suffers from febrile convulsions and he is nearly 3.
When he is well im sure we would hear him holla from the next road.

when they start having boyfriends over

OUrs makes an annoying buzzing noise, so don't really bother anymore. When they're asleep not much wakes them up, have it on when they're poorly.

I only ever have it on if I am somewhere (eg garden) or doing something (washign up, tv) that means I wouldn;t hear dd (9m) if she cried.

When you don't feel you need to hear them if they squeak.

I would add that it doesn't matter if you use it for ages. I still use one with DD who is 5 and so many people have been shocked by it but I really don't see the problem. It's as if there is a badge of honour amongst those who choose to give it up before you - 'look how relaxed I am, I don't even use a baby monitor anymore so I must be much more a chilled out parent than you'. Or maybe that's just my insecurity :-)

Baby monitor???????????

Oh yes, I might have used one with dd1 at the beginning.

With ds1 we only used it when we went for a drink at the neighbour's house

dd2 - don't even know where it is....

When it breaks down.

in answer to your question... when you feel comfortable.
I stopped early on as I realised I could hear him crying (softly) through our paper walls without the monitor.

Until your baby is so loud when she cries that you can hear her anywhere in the house without the monitor.....

There aren't any hard and fast rules. some parents don't use them at all, some do. when you stop listening in is when you feel comfortable about it

I still use one for my 3 and 5 yr old DD's. I don't hear them when i am downstairs. It means i can get up the stairs to put back to bed before they wander down and want to stay up with me!

When you don't want to hear every sigh, snore and moan. Trust me, you'll hear them if they want you!

We still use them for our 3 and 2 year old. Our house is v big and our bedroom is far away from their rooms. I don't hear them even if they scream at the top of their lungs! Well worth getting a digital monitor which allows you to fiddle with sensitivity and volume. That way you don't get every grunt, snore or squeak!

A friend of mine's mom used one until she moved out of the house at 21. Her mom told her she wanted to be able to hear whatever might be going on in there, especially phone calls to her boyfriends.

I'm thinking of reinstating ours with ds (12) as an early warning system, as he hasn't learned to knock at doors yet, and it's potentially embarrassing at times!

I'm not sure I've ever agreed with the 'you'll hear them if you're needed' argument, tbh. Choking is almost silent, I doubt that people would wake up from a deep sleep at that. Some people sleep better not hearing every little squeak, as has been said, but I personally find that I sleep better if I know that I can hear my 2 - otherwise I'm thinking "what if something is wrong and I can't hear it?"