MurmeliYou need a baby monitor as soon as your child is asleep and you are not in the same room. That can be from day one or only after a few months. There is no fixed age at which it becomes necessary, and none at which you should stop. Most families stop once the child can call out or leave the room on their own, which is often between three and four years old.
This guide was written by the team behind the baby monitor app Murmeli. What it says applies to any baby monitor, whether a device or an app.
What a baby monitor does and what it doesn't
A baby monitor transmits what happens in the nursery: crying, coughing, calling and, with a camera, the picture. It helps you notice that your child is awake or needs you while you are in another room.
It does not protect against sudden infant death syndrome. A baby monitor hears what is loud, and a breathing stop is silent. Breathing sensors under the mattress are a different topic and something to discuss with your paediatrician. Other things matter for safe sleep: on the back, in their own cot, no pillows or sheepskins, a smoke-free home.
When is a baby monitor worth it?
The University Children's Hospital Zurich names the baby's own cot in the parents' bedroom as the safest place for an infant to sleep. In the first months, your child will usually sleep near you at night anyway. A baby monitor is mainly useful in these moments:
- Naps. The child sleeps in the bedroom while you are in the kitchen or the garden.
- The first hours of the evening. The child goes to bed at seven and you stay up for another two or three hours.
- Large flats and houses. Across two floors, you no longer hear quiet crying.
- The move to their own room. From then on, the baby monitor matters for the whole night.
When the move to the nursery makes sense is up to you as a family. Some children sleep better alone after six months, others stay with their parents longer.
Until what age do you need a baby monitor?
There is no rule here either, but there are signs that it is no longer needed:
- Your child calls you loudly and clearly when they need something.
- They climb out of bed on their own and come to you.
- You can hear them from your bed, even without a device.
- You have been using the monitor out of habit for weeks and it hardly ever goes off.
For many families this happens between three and four years old. That is not a guideline, just an observation. A child who sleeps through early and whose room is next to the parents' may not need one at two. If they sleep two floors away, you keep it longer.
When a baby monitor still makes sense later
In some situations, older children are monitored again:
- Illness. With a fever, a bad cough or vomiting at night, you want to be able to react quickly. Many parents bring the monitor out again for a few nights.
- A new sibling. The older child moves into their own room and the baby sleeps with the parents. Suddenly you need a connection again.
- Holidays and unfamiliar beds. In a new place, a child wakes up more easily and can't find their way around.
- Children with special needs. With epilepsy, breathing problems or a disability, talk to your paediatrician about the right kind of monitoring.
Camera or audio only?
For a newborn, audio is usually enough. They cry when they need something, and you go and check anyway. The camera becomes more useful as the child gets older. You can see whether they are just talking in their sleep and drifting off again, or really awake. That way you don't have to go into the room every time and risk waking them fully.
At some point an older child no longer wants to be filmed. When they ask, it is time to switch the camera off or stop altogether.
Buy a device or use an app?
If you only need a baby monitor for a few months or for special situations, an expensive device is hardly worth it. A baby monitor app on two phones does the same job. An old smartphone lying in a drawer is enough for the baby's side. More on that in the guide old phone as a baby monitor.
An app has another advantage as the child grows: you can delete it when you no longer need it and set it up again in two minutes when your child is ill or on holiday. A device sits in the cellar and has flat batteries the next time.
Frequently asked questions
At what age can a baby sleep alone in their own room?
There is no fixed age. The University Children's Hospital Zurich recommends a baby's own cot in the parents' bedroom for infants. When you move depends on your child and your home. If in doubt, talk to your paediatrician or health visitor.
Does a baby monitor protect against SIDS?
No. A baby monitor transmits sound and pictures. It does not detect whether a child is breathing. Protection comes from the well-known safe sleep rules.
Do you need a baby monitor if the baby sleeps in the parents' room?
Usually not at night, as long as you are in the room too. For naps and the evening hours when you are in another room, it is still handy.
How long do other families use their baby monitor?
Many stop when the child is three or four. Others stop earlier, some later. What matters is whether you can hear your child without a device and whether they can come to you on their own.