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Friday, January 17, 2014
Baby monitor; Yes or No?
So, I don't know how many of you have seen these (I'm usually behind in the technology department), but last week my husband and 5-month baby girl and I were out and about at Target and I saw these baby monitors. Let me see if I can plug in a picture...
Ta-da! That's the first time I've done that. Exciting. :) Anywho, now you can Watch your baby sleep OR be awake. I'm sorry, to me that's just dorky. Why would you watch your child be awake? Go get the baby and hang out together. I'm still trying to think of a reason why you would want to Watch the baby sleep on your screen; maybe SIDS? If you can think of a good reason, let me know, because I'm still trying to figure out if screens are an absolute necessary step-up from just the sound monitors or not. Cu'z this could be a really good use of media or an unnecessary one. Still reasoning it out, but I'm leaning towards unnecessary... What say you?
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I think the monitor may be more for the parents' "mental health" than the infant's security. My first reaction was SIDS as well, but then I thought about all of the friends I have who have infants and how much they seem to stress about their children. Of course it's natural to be concerned about your child, but I can imagine that some parents would feel more at peace if they could frequently hear AND see all is well. But, then I suppose that they could just go and check on their infant in person...so in the end I'm not sure exactly what the need would be for this type of monitor. You pose a great question!
ReplyDeleteI haven't known anyone yet who has used those monitors but it is an interesting concept. I know whenever I had a new baby I would constantly be checking on them for the first few months to make sure they were breathing (I was kind of paranoid that way) so I could see how it would give you the peace of mind to see them breathing. I guess you would have to leave a light on in their room at night though in order to see them well enough.
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting question. My wife and I are thinking about getting a baby monitor, and I was wondering if it was worth paying the extra for a screen. I can think of a few reasons it would be helpful:
ReplyDelete1) Any of the following listed reasons without going in or near the baby, which could risk waking or getting the baby's attention. For example, my baby is often content until she sees me. If she wakes up in her crib, she might sit there quietly for an hour unless she sees me, at which point she decides I must give her attention. Also, being able to check without going into the room means you can be somewhere else (nearby) and not have to, say, get out of bed to check. You might even be able to check while your in the shower. It might save you from making many little trips to your baby's bedroom, each of which can risk disturbing you baby.
2) If you're paranoid or worried for some reason and want to make sure the baby is breathing, and the audio pick up isn't super sensitive enough to catch the breathing, you can do so.
3) You want to see whether your baby is sleeping or quietly awake. Perhaps you just put your baby to bed and want to know approximately what time your baby finally falls to sleep. (I like to try to track my baby's sleeping schedule/patterns to better determine how tired she probably is and to help predict when she needs a nap.)
4) You like the time your baby spends playing quietly in the crib, allowing you to get other things done before your baby decides he/she must have your constant or near constant attention. I have a fifteen month old, and she seems to have decided that virtually anytime I am detectable and awake, I need to have my attention focused on her. If I leave the room, she will play happily for awhile or until I appear again, so this week I've started leaving the room and sneaking a peek every little while. Having a visual baby monitor would allow me to see what she is up to without having to get up off my bum and go peek, and risk her seeing me peek (which she's done a few times already).
You commented about why wouldn't you want to go get the baby when awake and hang out together. I like to leave her there if she's happy doing so so that I can get some other neglected tasks accomplished. If I sound like a parent who is neglecting my baby, please speak up. Maybe I need to spend more time thinking over how I'm doing things. I want to give my baby the best I can and am open to constructive criticism.
(Clarifying note: when I "spoke" about what I do in my 4th point, I did not mean to indicate that I leave my baby in her crib in her room a lot. I was referring to leaving her in a room in her play area.)
ReplyDeleteHey Waffle, I really liked your post. I realized that I had been thinking more about a younger baby, because that's what I have; but it seems that having a screen to check on your baby without interrupting so that you can get things done is a really valid point (because I can totally identify with needing to get neglected things done, haha). And I think as long as she is happily occupied that that is not neglectful at all, as it sounds like you're really aware of when she needs you. But I can now see why a screen would be useful, so thanks. :)
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