JULY 05, 2022

When to Stop Using Baby Monitor?

By Hellobaby Official

Many parents have baby monitors installed for their babies from birth, but when should baby monitors stop being used? The following article will analyze the pros and cons of using a baby monitor according to the baby's further growth and development stages. Note that the situations described below are for reference only.

1. Do you need a baby monitor?

(1) FOR BABIES

After the baby is born, from the familiar amniotic fluid environment into entirely unfamiliar territory, they will feel uncomfortable physically and psychologically, and the baby will show emotional irritability and lack of self-control. New parents are often overwhelmed at this time, and many monitors on the market are equipped with the cure lullabies to soothe a crying baby. The selection of cure lullabies stems from the unique sound frequency of white noise. The white noise means a kind of sound close to the frequency babies hear in the amniotic fluid of the uterus, creating a familiar atmosphere for them and having a significant soothing effect.

Furthermore, humans are not born with self-awareness. Babies lack self-awareness until their growth reaches a particular stage. First, newborn babies cannot be aware of the existence of self. In other words, babies under four months have no self-awareness. They don't understand anything in the outside world. They don't even know that they have a body. Playing and sucking with fingers as toys without realizing it is their finger. When there is a lack of self-awareness, the perception of the outside world and self is lacking. They do not know whether it is cold or warm. The temperature warning function of the baby monitor can well ensure the constant temperature in the baby's room.

wireless baby monitor

(2) FOR PARENTS

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) falls under unexpected infant death (SUID). It refers to a seemingly healthy infant's sudden and unexplained death, usually during sleep or in the infant's sleeping area. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 3,400 infants die yearly from SUIDS. Babies 2 to 4 months old are most at risk of SIDS, with 90% of cases occurring in infants younger than six months. Follow safe sleep recommendations to reduce your baby's risk of SIDS and other types of sleep-related death. It is necessary for babies to sleep in a safe enough environment, to allow babies to sleep on their backs on a flat bed with enough space, and to prevent babies from hyperthermia. When parents have limited energy, a baby monitor is a great way to help monitor your baby's sleep. You can hear your baby cough or breathe without disturbing your baby's rest.

New parents are always at a loss when facing a new life, especially when 0-3 months old, the baby's biological clock has not yet been set, and his sleep is not regular. Dropping to naps during the day and waking up more often at night affects the parents' work during the day and rest at night. The baby monitor can alert parents when the baby is awake and crying and set a feeding timer to provide regular and healthy feeding to the baby.

HelloBaby baby monitor

2. When do you stop using a baby monitor?

(1) Adjust according to the baby's sleep schedule.

In the case of average baby growth, combined with the interference of natural light, the baby will distinguish between day and night, gradually form a biological clock from 6 weeks, and initially determine his schedule at three months. Once the biological clock is established, your baby periodically cycles between sleep and awake. When the baby is 3-6 months old, although the sleep time is not too long each time, parents can roughly grasp the baby's sleep schedule. At this time, parents can use the baby monitor according to the baby's sleep schedule. Of course, we recommend that parents can choose the best non-wifi baby monitor to avoid the radiation and information leakage damage caused by wifi.

Babies usually start sleeping around 8 hours without feeding at six months or earlier. After six months, mothers can stop the night feeding at night according to the situation. And the baby waking up at night is not necessarily because of hunger; it may be just like adults wake up at night and can fall back asleep. If you continue to use the baby monitor at this time, the presence of the parents will strengthen the baby's wakefulness and make it more difficult for the baby to learn to sleep through the night. So stopping using baby monitors at the right time can, to a certain extent, cultivate healthy sleep habits for babies while allowing parents to get better nighttime sleep.

HelloBaby baby camera

(2) It depends on the formation and development of the baby's self-awareness.

With the development of cognitive ability and enlightenment education, babies realize various body parts from five months, and their movements shift to the external environment. They start rocking sticks, squeezing toys that make sounds and sucking fingers, and babbling. They get different feelings from it, and that's when they realize that the hands and feet are part of their body, and the toy is not because the texture is different. At this time, parents can try to reduce using baby monitors and avoid too much interference with the baby's cognitive ability.

At about nine months, they gradually discovered their actions and the subjective feelings from actions, and then suddenly realized the special relationship between their actions and the results of the activities through an accidental effort and repeated to confirm the existence of this relationship. This state of consciousness is the most elementary form of a baby's self-awareness; it can distinguish between self and external things. When the baby begins to have self-awareness, parents do not need to use the baby monitor to intervene in their moves so that they have enough space to explore themselves and promote the formation of self-awareness.

(3) It depends on the estimated situation of SIDS risk.

After six months of age, your baby's risk of developing SIDS drops significantly. Researchers don't know exactly why the risk decreased, but the baby's brain development and maturing physical abilities may have played a role. During the first six months of life, babies experience rapid brain growth and developmental changes that affect sleep schedule, cardiorespiratory control, metabolism, and physical performance. So, for example, when a more mature baby sleeps in an environment with pillows or loose bedding, they may be able to lift their head, move away, or roll over. Older babies can also overcome risks by waking and complaining more efficiently or regulating their breathing better. The baby is strong enough to overcome the risks, so parents can safely reduce or stop using baby monitors.

best buy baby monitor

Generally, when to stop using a baby monitor depends on each baby's self-development. Each baby's conditions and living environment differ, leading to later development inconsistency. And every parent's needs are different, and when some parents want to keep an eye on their baby when they're outside or elsewhere in the house during nap time, you'll find it much more convenient to use a baby monitor. If you are concerned that the radiation from the monitor will affect your baby's growth, you can choose the best non-wifi baby monitor, the low radiation baby monitor.

5) Two-way voice call

The two-way voice call function allows you to communicate with the baby through the control terminal, achieving "remote comfort," a more experimental procedure.

6) Battery life

You need to consider how the camera on the surveillance unit (baby unit) is powered. Some products need to be connected to the power supply, which is an inconvenience but guarantees the battery life. Some products do not need to be connected to the power supply, so you need to pay close attention to the battery life and whether they can meet your needs.

7) Camera rotation

The camera of some products can be rotated 360°, which can observe the baby in multiple directions. Some cameras are unmovable.

8) Features

Some monitor products have features such as baby movement monitoring, face-covering warning, humidity, noise monitoring, etc. Remember to check the feature functions you like.