To have people comment I'm paranoid continuing to use 'baby' monitor

[Gemma273]

My wee one is nearly 3 and I still religiously use baby monitor every night, I don't think I'd settle without it, it's rarely needed as wakening up at night is very rare but I've had a few comments from family/friends that I'm being ridiculous and far too over protective. It's really annoyed me to be fair, any alone else still use their monitor for older kids?

People care cos it’s fucking weird and will make children mental too

Well yes normally, but when they’re ill it’s useful to be able to hear them without them having to get down out of bed and along to our room. It makes them feel better knowing that if they wake up about to puke or whatever I’ll hear them and go to them.

It’s so strange to me that people think it’s creepy. When the monitor is on at night time, when my children are asleep, not playing or having imaginary conversations with their “boyfriends” or whatever, I’m not listening intently to it, I’m going to sleep myself and I know I’ll be woken up at some point by one of them calling for me. I’m a deep sleeper and having the monitor on means I’ll wake up and go to them before they start screaming the whole house down. I would never in a million years consider that creepy. My children are annoying though, I wish they’d just wake up and start playing happily or get up and go and switch the telly on and let me sleep, then I’d ditch the monitor.

@Nosetickle would you not find it creepy to be listened to in your bedroom?

And they probably would, like normal children, if they didn’t have the monitor

I didn’t use a baby monitor but this is a bit much.

They don’t seem to mind the monitor and know we can hear them so yes you may have a point that that’s why they call us in the morning instead of getting up by themselves. Mind you, on nights when I’ve forgotten to turn it on (I only turn it on once they’re asleep and I’m going to sleep, it’s not on all the time) they just stay in bed calling for us and getting louder and louder until we come in to them.

Yes I would, but they don’t seem to at all. They’re still so young and I think it gives them comfort that when they call for us we can hear them and come straight away.

Only if they’re connected to the internet though isn’t it?

My kids, once they were out of cots, would come knock on our bedroom door if they needed us during the night. Probably because they didn't have a monitor. I don't think it would have occurred to them to sit in bed yelling until we responded.

Thanks Bandwagon!
I wrote something similar in response but deleted it. Your response is much more polite!

We clearly have very different children, mine would scream all night rather then get out of bed. I wish it wasn’t that way but for some reason they’re terrified of getting out of bed in the night.

I wonder why that is? It sounds difficult for the kids and stressful for you. Is it very dark where you live? We have enough urban light around us that it's never too dark that you can't see in the house, even with all the lights off.

@Anonymous48 just to say thank you for your comments they did really make me think and finally we’ve ditched the monitor and it’s actually been fine! I think we’d just all got used to it and I still maintain it wasn’t creepy but it was like a security blanket for us all and it was the right time for it to go.

Wtf? That's so creepy

That's awesome!
I don't think it was creepy either, but as you said it gets to a point where it's no longer necessary. Way to go!
My youngest child is now 20 and at university. Parenting is basically just gradually letting go of control!

I have a 3 year old (almost 4) and a 1 year old (almost 2) and I have no plans to stop using the baby monitor! We have an audio one on all evening and night and we have a 'nest' camera on as well so we can dip in if we want to.

I'm not reading 9 pages OP but I guess some of these people have Ring bells and video security. So my response would be I'm as paranoid about my baby as you are of your postman, haha.

Also all the people saying a baby monitor is creepy....I'm waiting for the 'we co-slept until they were 10yrs old' crew to arrive 🤣

We’ve just finished with ours with our 3yo. I find the posters talking about being overprotective with a toddler quite odd tbh. Mine have had a lot of independence and find it baffling people could take issue with a monitor over night at that age.

The reasons ours is now away is the youngest will come directly to us at night. For a long time she’d just stay in her bed getting more and more distressed until she hyperventilated. She also had a very bad winter of illness last winter which made nights hard. Having the monitor meant we could hear and intercept a bit quicker and avoid her getting worked up. My other one was probably a bit younger when it went.