Baby monitors...Invading the kids privacy??

I think that they'll let you know. When they get to an age where they don't like you seeing them get dressed or talk to friends I think they hit the age where they want and need som privacy. I would think 5 or 6 on average. Whether its a boy or a girl also makes a difference on what the privacy deals with. I have a three year old and she still doesn't quite realize I hear her through the monitor even though she knows what it does. She just hasn't put two and two together, or she forgets.

I think that the idea of privacy like that is over thought and you need to listen and watch your kids as they grow up. When they are teens that is a different thing all together. I grew up in a family of 5 kids, so there was little if any privacy at all to begin with. You need to be able to take action if something happens, so you need to know if something happens. If they know you are listening they are going to feel more secure, and until they actually question it, there should be no problem. Another thing you can do is as she gets older, just have the monitor on as needed not any more.

We had a baby monitor for quite awhile because there was always another baby. My oldest had it in her room until her brother moved into the 2nd bedroom then we put it in his room since he was the baby and occasionally woke in the night. She was 1 1/2 at the time. The rooms are right across the hall and you can hear everything in this house so even if she woke up crying I could hear it on the monitor. It stayed in his room for awhile because his little sister moved in there when she was 5 months and he was 18 months old. Then it broke. The youngest was about 1 when it broke and, although she had started sleeping through the night at 5 weeks, had decided to wake up twice a night at around 7 months and was still doing it at 1. We never bought another monitor though (didn't really have the extra money) so my husband slept on the couch for a couple of months. I always offered to take turns with him but he told me to sleep in the bed. Actually I think we both needed separate spaces (he sleeps on the couch now, too for various reasons). I haven't had a need for a monitor since then. They were old enough to sleep through the night and loud enough that if they did wake up I could hear them (because it wasn't an infant cry it was an all out screaming and kicking the door kind of thing). My youngest is almost 2 and we have never needed a baby monitor with her. She slept in our room (out of necessity) until she was 14 or 15 months old and now my room is across the hall from her. If she wakes, I hear it.

When she moves out of the house? I think that is she is young enough that you still need to check in on her when she is playing to make sure that she isn't getting into trouble that using a baby monitor to do so is perfectly fine and frankly a good idea.