Where to Put a Baby Monitor: Safe Placement and Cord Safety

Where you put a baby monitor matters more than which one you buy. The main risk isn't the monitor itself. It's the cord.

The three-foot rule

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association have long advised that a monitor should stay at least three feet away from the crib. Their warning explains that cords on baby monitors are a strangulation hazard when they're within a child's reach.

This isn't theoretical. In 2011, a monitor maker recalled video monitors after two infants died from strangulation in the cords.

That guidance dates from 2010 to 2012, and we haven't found anything that replaces it. The logic hasn't changed: babies reach further than you expect, and they keep learning to reach further.

It applies to phones too

If you use a phone as a monitor, its charging cable is a cord. Treat it exactly like a monitor's power cable.

Keep the phone and the cable at least three feet from the crib, and out of reach of any part of the crib your baby can get to.
Never put a phone in the crib or attach it to the rail.
Route the cable behind furniture, or secure it along the wall so that no loops hang down.
Check the distance again as your baby grows and starts to pull up and stand. Also check whether the crib has been moved.
Apply the same rules to the phone's stand or anything else near the crib that could be pulled in.

Good spots

A sturdy shelf or dresser across the room
A wall mount, with the cable kept out of reach
A tripod that's stable and placed well away from the crib, in a room where a mobile baby can't get to it

Avoid the crib rail, the edge of a table where a phone could fall, and anywhere it might get hot, such as a sunny windowsill or next to a radiator. Don't cover a charging phone.

Getting a good picture and sound

Aim from above and to one side, so you can see the whole sleep surface.
Keep the camera away from windows, which can leave the room looking too dark on camera by contrast.
Keep the microphone away from fans, humidifiers and white noise machines. Even a good detector works better with a clear signal.
Check the Wi-Fi signal where the phone will actually sit, not just in the doorway.

If you're using two phones, our setup guide has a short test routine.

What a monitor doesn't do

A monitor lets you hear and see your baby from another room. It doesn't reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

The American Academy of Pediatrics' 2022 safe sleep guidance advises against relying on devices that claim to reduce SIDS risk, including wearable monitors. It has also raised concerns that such devices can create a false sense of security. That concern applies to any monitor, including ours.

The basics matter far more: place your baby on their back, on a firm, flat sleep surface, with nothing else in the crib. Your pediatrician is the right person to ask about your baby's sleep.

This article is general information and isn't medical advice.