It’s freezing cold outside and as we struggle to warm the house up inside, many of us are investing in winter bedding.  The options are plentiful with duvets of different togs and made of different materials, as well as pillows and blankets.  However, how do we chose the best winter bedding for our children?

Ensuring children get a good night’s sleep is vital for healthy growth and development and making sure they have the appropriate bedding and environment is important.  Children of different ages have different sleep time needs and so here we have outlined our recommendations on the best bedding for each stage.

As many of us know, the current recommendations for young children under the age of 12months is that they should not use pillows, quilts or duvets (LULLABY TRUST).  In our experience, baby sleeping bags like the grobag are a great option for babies over 8lbs and toddlers.  Available in various sizes and togs you can chose a grobag to suit the season and  temperature of your child’s room. They will make sure a young child is cosy but not at risk of overheating during the Winter months.

As your child reaches 2 years, their bedding requirements change.  They are probably in a toddler bed or cot bed now and so although it is still very important that they do not sleep in too hot or too cold an environment, a pillow and duvet becomes an option.  Most manufacturers offer specific toddler sized duvets and pillows. If your little one is prone to accidents, then machine washable duvets are important, a good value choice is the  John Lewis Soft Touch Washable duvet and junior pillow set which comes in a 7 tog (thermal insulation) which should be perfect for a cold night at this age.  If you prefer to buy a natural product, a wool duvet and pillow is equally great.  Cosy, insulating and temperature regulating, this is also a lovely option for all year round.  Have a read of our review of John Lewis Wool Cot Bed Duvet to see if this may work for your child this winter.

As we move on to school age children, they become more particular about their needs and tell us what they like!  Although, they need slightly less sleep as they get older, even a 16yr old requires a good 9 hours per night (see NHS guidelines on how much sleep children need).   Allergies may have been identified too  (see our reviews of anti-allergy duvets) and they will be sleeping in a full sized bed.  Your options are now similar to an adult’s. Whether they are 3 or 13 years, we would still always recommend a washable duvet and many manufacturers are now offering bedding that is a bit more interesting and may even appeal to your child rather than just being part of the furniture.  The Panda duvet has certainly been a hit in our house, with my 9 and 12 year old fighting over who is going to have the cute duvet.   The Fine Bedding Company’s 5* Night Owl coverless duvets come in a cosy all year round 10.5 tog, as well as 6 different colours is machine washable and is great for all kids even when they are all grown up and off to uni!  A budding Astronaut or Scientist or even a child that is prone to sweating at night, may also like the idea of the Simba Hybrid duvet with Outlast – it offer heat regulation and was inspired by NASA –  it comes at a price but is made to last.

 Our children have such busy lives, it is so important that they get a good night’s sleep.