Make use of your baby monitor… even after the baby days

Baby monitors can come in handy long after the days of listening to the sound of sweet little baby whimpers (I can say “sweet” because I no longer have a little baby). Before you sell it in a garage sale or give it away on freecycle, consider the other ways in which you can use a baby monitor.

Sick child. If your child goes to bed with a fever, upset tummy or other illness, put a monitor in her room before she goes to bed. Often, when kids are sick, they may talk in a more quiet voice or not recognize when they need to call you in for help. With a monitor in the room, you’ll be able to hear quiet cries for help, a coughing fit or [worse] vomiting, which you may not have heard otherwise until later.

Guests. We’ve had a lot of babies come through our house recently. It’s nice to have a monitor on hand when guests bring little ones. That way, adults can peacefully enjoy some downtime in another room or outside without worrying about hearing their children.

Somethin’ in the oven. Like many of you, I’m a multitasker. So it wouldn’t be unusual for me to pop something into the oven then head outside to do some yardwork while watching my kids play in the back yard. And, oh yeah, maybe I would catch up with my Grandma on the phone too. Which means, of course, that I would most likely forget about whatever I threw in the oven. But… if I turned on the oven timer and plugged in the monitor in my kitchen, I could take the portable receiver outside to hear the timer. Et voilà, no burned cookies!