If a mom tells you she’s not ashamed of her parenting, she’s lying. (Dads, too, for that matter.) But moms have a much guiltier conscience about it than dads.

My mommy confession: I still use a video monitor on my 3-year-old every night.

Stop judging for a second to hear me out. Actually, I’m not sure I have a good excuse. It’s just really comforting to wake up in the middle of the night and peek at her sleeping peacefully. If I hear a noise, I can see if she’s sleeping. And, when she crawls out of bed, I can yell from the comfort of my own bed. So she thinks I have psychic abilities.

I really do recommend video monitors for all new parents. When Cambria was little, I would dream that she was crying. My dreams were so vivid, I would wake up, run in her room and pick up a perfectly sleeping baby. The video monitor calmed my nightmares.

I would love to tell you that we haven’t gotten around to taking down the camera, but that’s a lie. We actually moved 6 months ago and put it back up in our new house. Except this time we installed it above our toddler’s big-girl bed and not a newborn’s crib.

I would also love to tell you that we are taking it down soon, but I’m not sure I can. Safety is every parent’s first concern with their children. It gives me great peace to glance at the monitor at 2 a.m. on the way to the restroom to see her cuddling her teddy bear.

Once, I woke up in the middle of the night to see my husband was gone. I glanced at the video monitor and there he was, snuggling in her bed. The adorable sight is reason enough for me to keep the monitor forever, or at least until she’s 4. That’s reasonable, right?

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What about you? What is your mommy confession?

Melissa Cruickshank is married with one daughter. She works full-time. Read her here on momaha.com