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The most recognisable sound of a paediatric ward is not usually children playing or infants crying, but the cacophony of pulse oxygen saturation (SpO2) monitor alarms. We have grown accustomed clinically to this technology and, as intrusive as it is, feel bereft without it. SpO2 monitoring is vital to rapidly and non-invasively detect deterioration in physiologically unstable children or to support the titration of supplemental oxygen. But when children are on a clear trajectory of clinical improvement, we still struggle to detach from our ‘babysitting’ friends; many children remain on an SpO2 monitor until hospital discharge and attempts at intermittent monitoring of SpO2 in infants with bronchiolitis on supplemental oxygen are often met with unease. Like children and mobile phone social media detox, maybe we clinicians need an SpO2 detox to give us confidence that we can provide better care with less clinical intervention. So, it may seem a strange juxtaposition to propose that the answer to weaning clinical dependence on technology may be the introduction of more technology.