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There are many items which are necessary when having a baby.. and yes, you DO need a baby monitor.
I have never worked with a family who have not had a very high tech monitor set up for their baby. The high tech monitors do tend to fall into the essential baby equipment category,
Baby monitors, even the most basic ones, provide some much-needed peace of mind for parents when they are not in the room with their Little Darlings.
However, they do have their drawbacks because for all the peace of mind they can also have totally the opposite effect. Often, I see parents running into their baby’s room the very second they hear the slightest noise coming from the monitor.
Parents run to check if baby is comfortable, not too hot or cold, they check their nappy and if they have confirmed everything is OK then they head out of the room. They sit back down for a few minutes until they hear another noise come through the speaker, and then they’re back in action, repeating the whole process.
Honestly. I have seen it happen numerous times. And I promise, I am not exaggerating even in the slightest!
If you are reading this and thinking, “What is so strange/bad about that?” then it is quite possible that you are addicted to your baby monitor.
Here is some interesting information, did you know that the first baby monitor was invented back in 1937 as a result of the baby kidnapping. Eugene MacDonald, who was a president of an electronics company commissioned designer Isamu Noguchi to create a radio device that would transmit sound from baby’s room to a receiver elsewhere in the house.
Over the years, baby monitors have grown more sophisticated. They switched from radio to digital signals, no more wires, added two way communication so parents could talk to their babies too, next came video monitors, wi-fi capability for better picture and sound. The latest advancement is they can now pick up a baby’s heart rate, oxygen levels, movements, breathing, sleeping position and get this, even if they need their nappy changing!
This is the issue!
On the very one hand, the technology is great to monitor our Little Darlings but on the other hand they are not great for a parents mental awareness if you are in a state of constant state of hyper-vigilance throughout the night, and rushing in to “fix” things every time baby makes a move or the temperature in their room goes up by a half a degree.
I totally understand the anxiety that parents have about keeping their babies safe. There is no more amazing instinct out there than the one of protecting your child. However, there is a large difference between taking due care and obsessing over the little details.
Baby monitors have not been proven in being effective in reducing the incidence of SIDS. Even with the millions, monitors in nurseries around the world, they have not really done anything in preventing the one major catastrophe that parents are desperately trying to avoid.
I am not here to tell you not to use a monitor but I am urging you to rememeber what they are designed for. They are there for peace of mind and to alert you to an emergency. They are not like a call button on an airplane, you don't need to go in at every noise.
Giving your child the opportunity to fall back to sleep when they wake up in the night is actually very important if you want them to learn the skills they need to enjoy nights of restful, rejuvenative sleep.
In short, if your baby monitor gives you peace of mind, keep using it. If it is making you anxious then it is time to make a change.
DO YOU HAVE 15 MINUTES TO CHAT ABOUT HOW WE CAN SOLVE SLEEP? I'VE GOT A SPOT TO TALK WITH YOU! FIND A TIME HERE.
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