Like any other form of technology, baby monitors have improved greatly recently.
With Wi-Fi, parents can quickly check on their babies anytime.
Baby monitors are helpful devices for tendering the little ones, but it is essential to know when to give them some privacy.
So, Should You Leave Your Baby Monitor On All Night?
You can keep your baby monitor on overnight, provided you follow the monitor’s usage guidelines. But it is essential that you deliberate on how leaving the baby monitor on all night can affect you and your baby’s sleep quality.
The baby monitors will let you go about your house activities, knowing that you will hear the baby’s cries when they wake up or something is amiss. When you have become accustomed to being able to monitor your baby throughout the night, it can be unexpectedly challenging to stop. Parents fond of watching their babies at night are uneasy going monitor-free. But turning it off when your baby is six months will significantly help you get better sleep at night and allow the baby to adapt to regular sleeping patterns.
Three Benefits Of Keeping Your Baby Monitor on All Night
As a parent or a caregiver, it is natural to be anxious about your baby’s whereabouts.
So, it is understandable if you want to keep careful tabs on your baby sleeping in a separate room.
Here are some reasons why you should keep your baby monitor on overnight:
1. It Helps You Tone Down Nighttime Anxieties
It is calming to know that your baby is sleeping okay.
This is a significant reason you should leave the baby monitor on all night.
Although you should not depend on baby monitors to keep your baby safe, keeping the baby monitor on can help you stay calm and prepared.
You can simply glance at the screen monitor every time you feel frayed or wake up at the alarm of the baby’s cry.
2. It Is A Great Way To Stay Focused If You Are A Heavy Sleeper
If you are a heavy sleeper, it is easy to miss out on your baby’s call for attention.
You might not always hear when the baby cries.
Turn the volume up as loud as necessary to ensure that you don’t miss out.
3. Baby Monitor Doubles As Home Security
Some parents use baby monitors for home security besides watching their toddlers.
It feels assuring to know that you have added protection.
Advanced baby monitors have unique features like sound and motion sensors, night vision, and zoom capabilities that you can use as a baby monitor and a security camera.
The Four Types Of Baby Monitors
What worries every newborn parent is the safety of their baby.
And so, you will find that buying a baby monitor for monitoring a newborn during bedtime is a noble idea.
Today’s baby monitors are more sophisticated, with features like high-definition video monitoring, Wi-Fi, or app-enabled capabilities.
Consider the following types of baby monitors:
1. Audio Monitors
Perhaps this is the oldest form of baby monitor available. Its mode of operation is pretty simple.
You place the pickup base where the baby sleeps and take the receiver to your bed or wherever you go as long as you are within the signal transmission frequency range.
Moreover, modern audio baby monitors have two-way audio where you can receive audio from the pickup base and communicate with your baby through the receiver.
2. Audiovisual Monitors
This is an upgrade from the audio monitor, with a camera that sends both the video and audio through to the receiver in your bedroom or wherever you can carry it.
While most audiovisual monitors simply send audiovisual signals to the receiver, others have a two-way communication where you can talk to your baby over the monitor.
3. Wi-Fi Monitors
This is a present generation baby monitor.
The Wi-Fi monitor comes with several monitoring options like audiovisual, room temperature, and other nifty features.
The information from the monitoring camera is sent to a receiver or a configured smartphone.
What is more, you can set up more than one camera and monitor in different rooms.
The monitor automatically detects sound and motion from the baby’s cot.
Some Wi-Fi monitoring devices can even send you a notification to your email or smartphone.
4. Movement Monitors
They come in different forms like movement detector pads, wearable tech, and clip-on portable movement monitors.
These baby movement monitors usually sit underneath the crib or are placed on the baby’s clothing to see if the baby is still breathing okay or having trouble breathing.
The movement monitor is helpful if you have an active baby who rolls around in their sleep and can easily get entangled.
But by the time your baby reaches 6 to 9 months, it is not helpful to have the monitor anymore.
How To Effectively Use Your Baby Monitor at Night
Now that you have chosen to sleep with your baby monitor on, you must learn to use it efficiently. This will help you ease the anxieties that come at night.
1. Put The Monitor Away From Your Bed
It will help you stop checking your baby’s monitoring screen every time your turn around on your bed.
So, rather than keeping your baby monitor close to your head, try on the bed table farther away from the bed.
It will help you avoid repeated and obsessive checking before falling asleep.
2. Adjust The Monitor Volume To Low
Another idea for the effective use of the baby monitor is to keep the volume low.
This works for older babies or children with a longer sleep cycle.
You will only wake up when you hear louder sounds. High volume will disturb your sleep after every little one makes a turn.
3. Learn To Distinguish When The Baby Is Really Awake
As a parent, you should be guided by your instincts to differentiate when your baby is, in fact, awake or just turning to go back to sleep.
Learn to differentiate between a baby’s call for attention from the parent and indistinct murmurs from a baby that will fall back to sleep.
4. Practice Safe Sleeping
Leaving a baby monitor on all night is not enough to protect your baby.
Safe sleep will help you protect your baby from suffocation and choking hazards.
So, put your baby to sleep on the back of the crib mattress, don’t bed share, put the baby on their cot, and ensure that your baby’s crib is up to the latest safety standards.
Three Baby Monitor Safety Tips
Generally, baby monitors are safe to use, but issues can happen if you use them carelessly.
1. Be Careful With The Baby Monitor Cords
The baby monitor cords should be placed at least three feet away from the baby’s cot.
You should never put the baby monitor on the edge or inside the crib.
The monitor cords can easily entangle your baby and cause suffocation.
2. Urgently Respond To Apnea Warnings
If you use a baby monitor that tracks the baby’s breathing, heed warnings against apnea.
Although it is not recommended to use these monitors, you should seek a doctor’s advice on safe use if your baby has known breathing issues.
3. Do Not Allow The Baby Monitor To Substitute For Your Parenting Supervision
Baby monitors are beneficial for parenting, but you should not allow them to replace your supervision.
For instance, if you haven’t heard your baby cry or seen them for a while, you should walk down to their room to check on them.
Be a good parent and check on your baby as regularly as necessary.
Your baby monitor does not report all baby details a parent will notice.
Final Thoughts
While most parents find baby monitors handy, leaving them on all night depends on your personal choice and family needs.
However, leaving the baby monitor on overnight may interrupt you and your baby’s sleep.
Related
References
https://www.verywellfamily.com/the-best-ways-to-use-a-baby-monitor-5114341
https://mutsy.com/do-baby-monitors-have-live-feed-all-the-time