Baby monitor or walkie talkie?

We are moving into a new house soon, and it’s two story (this is new for me). The kids are 6 and 3yo. 6yo DD is a bit prone to worrying, so I’m hoping to pre-empt any issues with a plan. She usually goes to bed with us saying goodnight and she goes off to sleep. She very very rarely gets up after going to bed (spilt her drink bottle in bed, realised we forgot to give her medicine, that sort of thing).

However I can see her possibly getting anxious if she’s upstairs and we are downstairs, so I think some form of communication device might help her. My first thought was a baby monitor, one for each of them, so if they call out they know I’ll hear them. But then thought a walkie talkie would allow easier communication (possibly), but maybe greater potential for being too fun, and maybe even disturbing each other.

Any thoughts? Am I worrying about nothing and I will hear them fine?

I think you will hear them fine from down stairs (assuming it is not a massive house). A second hand baby monitor could be a relatively cheap way to give your DD reassurance though. You could also do some ‘practice runs’ with your DD- during the day you downstairs and her in her room. She can call out then and will then see that you can hear her.

How big is the house? Unless it’s massive, you should be able to hear the kids calling out for water or whatever just fine.

I’d only get some sort of monitor if our room was on a different level from the kids. Even then, I’d only install it for the younger kid or if either kid had additional needs.

We lived in a 2 storey townhouse when ds was little we heard him everywhere without a baby monitor

FIL had a intercom ( wireless) he would use to give his orders when he was in the upstairs master bedroom ( only room upstairs). Could be a cheaper option.

The house is fairly big, and there would be two closed doors between us (so that our evening noise doesn’t wake DS, who is a much lighter sleeper than DD). We’ve still got one monitor that we used with DS in our current house, two closed doors plus tv noise meant we couldn’t hear him despite the rooms being close.

Thinking about it, I’m keen to be able to reassure DD without having to go back up the stairs each time (due to joint issues). I think we can do that with our old monitor.

Don’t get a walkie talkie, or if you do, get really good ones. They get a lot of interference and can be quite loud, and I can just imagine kids using it will drive you mental. They generally have all sorts of beeps and things when you turn them on and off too, loud enough to possibly wake the 3YO.

A baby monitor would be a better idea IMO, they are designed for quiet bedroom use.

Or, how about an iPad with Facebook kids messenger app? My 6YO has just got the hang of the kids messenger app, it’s a special app just for kids, it’s all controlled by an adult, even the gifs have been blocked so kids can’t see inappropriate things. They can’t even add contacts without your Ok. Then your 6YO can just quietly message you.

I have a Vtech Monitor.

Any noise in their room comes through to the one in the master bedroom.

If l want to say something to them, but not go down to their room l use the talk button on the side of my unit.

Or, how about an iPad with Facebook kids messenger app? My 6YO has just got the hang of the kids messenger app, it’s a special app just for kids, it’s all controlled by an adult, even the gifs have been blocked so kids can’t see inappropriate things. They can’t even add contacts without your Ok. Then your 6YO can just quietly message you.

I like this idea. My daughter was anxious, and getting her to develop a bit more independence without aggravating anxiety was very tricky. She was a few years behind other kids in terms of what she was prepared to tolerate.

If we'd used some sort of monitor, I'm not sure we'd ever have reached a point where she was happy to do without it.

The messenger app gives her the ability to contact you without even having to call out, but she has to put that tiny bit of effort into communicating with you. It also means she has to articulate with you what the problem actually is.

(I might be projecting a bit there ...)

EFS

Mine are older with mobile phones..... but it does amuse me these days that if DS2 is feeling sick (bedroom furthest away from mine on different floor) he now texts me. It actually is good as if he was calling out to wake me up he would wake the others.

So PP suggestion of iPad with messenger is good.

We have used a monitor when they were younger and are using a walkie talkie atm.

One of my kids is getting scared at night and we can’t hear her when we watch tv. You do need rechargeable batteries and we occasionally pick up other people using theirs in the area. Works for us though.

She does have a phone but is too scared to type a message, hopefully this stage doesn’t last long!

I’d be very reluctant to leave DD with an iPad at night. I’ve tried all the methods for blocking apps and usage after a certain time and she seems to be able to disable them (or they don’t work properly).

We have Alexa on the Amazon Dot speakers. There is a communication function on that but I haven’t used it. We have them in the children’s rooms because they deliver music and stories without a screen. The children set alarms and check the weather too.

The older models are pretty cheap, about $40 each.

I’d be very reluctant to leave DD with an iPad at night. I’ve tried all the methods for blocking apps and usage after a certain time and she seems to be able to disable them (or they don’t work properly).

Ha! Fair point if she's a bit addicted to the idea of the ipad. She might sit there sending you messages all night for the fun of it.

I’d be very reluctant to leave DD with an iPad at night. I’ve tried all the methods for blocking apps and usage after a certain time and she seems to be able to disable them (or they don’t work properly).

 

Ha! Fair point if she's a bit addicted to the idea of the ipad. She might sit there sending you messages all night for the fun of it.

Maybe good for her literacy?

I would look at a monitor that has one main one for you and one in each kids room that will only need 1 main monitor.

Then you only have to carry one monitor around the house, it will switch between kids rooms so you can check and communicate as needed.

I find with walkie talkies both my younger 2 (9 & 6) have trouble coordinating the press button and speaking. When upset that coordination is definitely out the window.

I’d be very reluctant to leave DD with an iPad at night. I’ve tried all the methods for blocking apps and usage after a certain time and she seems to be able to disable them (or they don’t work properly).

 

Ha! Fair point if she's a bit addicted to the idea of the ipad. She might sit there sending you messages all night for the fun of it.

 

Maybe good for her literacy?

Yes, you could send them back and say 'I will respond to your request when it is submitted with correct spelling'.

Ha! Fair point if she's a bit addicted to the idea of the ipad. She might sit there sending you messages all night for the fun of it.

My almost-6yo niece has Messenger Kids and spams the whole family with emojis and drawings of unicorns

Ha! Fair point if she's a bit addicted to the idea of the ipad. She might sit there sending you messages all night for the fun of it.

 

My almost-6yo niece has Messenger Kids and spams the whole family with emojis and drawings of unicorns

Glad we're not the only ones! My 7yo spams us all with drawings, emojis and photos! I have to tell her to limit what she is sending, she'll create groups and have the same poor family members in multiple groups and send each one everything

We don’t allow the iPad in the bedrooms but use our google home “broadcast” function. DS1 has this smart clock https://www.lenovo.com/au/en/smart-clock/

It tells him tomorrow’s weather and plays rainfall music, but no videos so he can play music during the day too.

using an iPad kind of flys in the face of kids not having technology in their bedrooms

Honestly I think any device that you give her will likely just become an unhelpful focus or a source of distraction. If she stays in her bed most of the time now then I would proceed with the expectation that that will continue after you move and then fix any issues as they arise. Drawing her attention to the fact that you will be further away after the move guarantees that this will become a focus for her, if you don't make an issue out of it then it may not be one at all.

I would probably do other things to sell the new room to her, could you get her a fancy new bedspread and sheet set (maybe cushions?) and set it up as a surprise for her first night there?

Honestly I think any device that you give her will likely just become an unhelpful focus or a source of distraction. If she stays in her bed most of the time now then I would proceed with the expectation that that will continue after you move and then fix any issues as they arise. Drawing her attention to the fact that you will be further away after the move guarantees that this will become a focus for her, if you don't make an issue out of it then it may not be one at all.

I would probably do other things to sell the new room to her, could you get her a fancy new bedspread and sheet set (maybe cushions?) and set it up as a surprise for her first night there?

Oh she actually really excited about her new room, and I can imagine she actually will be excited about going to bed. The issue will most likely be when I go to leave the room. I won’t present her with anything, but I’d like to have a solution of some kind ready to pull out in case it is an issue (because we will have spent the day moving and I will likely not have as much patience as I will need).

So the more I think about it, DS’s old baby monitor will be the way to go. It makes it seem less like I’ve thought of it being a problem, and it will probably be forgotten about pretty quickly. It really just needs to be something that reassures her that it’s there if she needs it, I don’t anticipate that it will actually get a lot of use. If it does then we will probably need to look at a different solution.