Toddlers--When Did You...

Well my 2 year old plays in her room by herself for naptime and sometimes at nighttime because she won't stay in bed. I still have a monitor in her room and probably will for a long time (like years) - I'm still a paranoid mom and the monitor gives me some comfort.

I let my daughter play in her room as soon as she could, so about 16 months or so. I'd go in periodically to check on her. Also, I've never even owned a baby monitor so I can't help with that. My house is only 600sq. ft. so a baby monitor would've been laughable and I'm able to get to my daughter's bedroom in like 10 steps. You know your child better than we do. Are they mischievous? Mine wasn't so I didn't really have to worry about her climbing on things, she just didn't do it. My nephew on the other hand is only 10 months and I can already tell he needs to be watched at all times! So I say it's not necessarily about age but how much you feel comfortable with.

mine are 5. i still have their baby monitor on. and they are still not allowed to play by themselves in their room. they do, however, play by themselves in the living room because it's in the middle floor where i am mainly in the kitchen or study room. their bedroom is upstairs, the flight of stairs, beds, dressers etc those scare me to leave them by themselves.
baby monitors...i plan on using them for years to come :)

I started letting them play for about 1/2 an hour at a time unattended around 2 1/2 yrs old - I made sure nothing could hurt them - no small toys out - all electrical outlets covered and nothing that they could pull down on themselves. That may be later than most people do it - I am just a nervous nellie.

when our daughter was about 3 years old. She didnt sleep very well at night and it was just easier to have the monitor in there (we sometimes joked that it would be there until she graduated). :)
As for playing in her room, it was about 2.5 years old, when brother came along. Kids sometimes need their space to get away. Though I dont encourage her to play alone, its alright sometimes. Especially now that brother wants to play with her toys. We have a rule that if you want to play alone in your room the other sibling has to respect that.

I stopped using a baby monitor really early, like when my boys were about 2 months old. I was so paranoid with every little sound that I couldn't get any sleep. I ditched the monitor and relied on my ears. If they were really upset it was no issue to hear them, and if they were just making noise, I could sleep through it.

And I started letting the boys play in their room around 2yo. Everything was really baby proofed in there, and I would check on them often.

My youngest is 15 months and she'll play in her room by herself, granted her room is very childproof so I feel comfortable letting her. I do check on her often if I'm not up there with her. As for monitors, we just moved into a house where our bedrooms are all on the same floor (wasn't the case in our old house so I definitely used them) and I stopped using them. I leave both my daughters bedroom doors open a bit and then I leave mine open so I can hear them. Definitely wait until you feel comfortable that your able to hear them and respond.

We have a bedroom downstairs and our kids are up. My son is 3 and we still use one at night, for that Just in case.

He usually plays in his room when I am putting his sister down for a nap, but majority of playtime is downstairs. Whatever you feel is right.

Wow after reading about what other moms have said, I feel like a bad mom. LOL. My daughter started playing in her room around 18 months. If I couldn't hear her I would check on her; usually meant she was up to no good. There is/was nothing in her room that she could pull down, climb on and tip over or any other 'danger zones'. Her dresser is in her closet, which I can lock. I now let both my kids, 4 and 2.5 play in their rooms together or separate as long as they want. I encourage them to play with just each other or by themselves.

As far as baby monitors. I couldn't sleep with one on because I would hear every movement of my children! Our bedroom is in the basement and the kids are upstairs. I stopped using the monitors when my kids were 6 months and 24 months. Both of them were sleeping through the night and if they woke up and needed something, they both could cry loud enough for me to hear them.

Do whatever you feel is comfortable. As far as the room, I'm sure your child will find something that you didn't babyproof, for me, it was lotion.... Live and learn:)

My son turned 2 in November and he has been free to go upstairs by himself and play in his room or the playroom ever since he could manage the stairs on his own (probably since he was about 18 months or so. As long as you have "childproofed" his room it shouldn't be a problem. As far as the monitor goes we still have it in his room and probably will for a few more months but it's certainly not necessary anymore.

Good luck,
K.