How to dress your child appropriately for bed.

One of my childhood memories from growing up was when I shared a room with my older sister. Much to her disgust (and my delight!), we shared a room until I was 10 years old and she was 13 years old. 

When we were younger and our parents came in to say goodnight, I remember asking to be tucked in tight so that no cool air could get under the covers and I would wake up nearly in the exact same position! I was the epitome of being as snug as a bug. My sister on the other hand was the most restless sleep ever! She kicked off the covers almost immediately as she moved around her bed and the majority of the night had no covers on.

Fast forward to when we now have our eldest daughter in a big girl bed and I had no idea how much we would have to check on her during the night to put the covers back on her. She literally kicks them off all night long but the kicker is (excuse the pun ☺ ), even at 4 years old, she won’t pull them back up over herself when she gets colds! I have since learnt that it’s not until around 5 years and older that children instinctively know to pull the blankets back on. This of course leaves them exposed and vulnerable to the cold.

The problem for our babies and toddlers are that if they are too hot or too cold, they can easily wake up. Unless we as adults, however, they don’t have the ability to put an extra blanket on themselves or kick the covers off if they are too hot. It is up to us as parents to make the room a comfortable temperature and to dress them appropriately. Depending on the source, recommendations can vary slightly, but we recommend to have the room temperature somewhere between 65°F-72°F. We have included a chart below with a guide on how to dress your child appropriately based on their room temperature. 

There can be many different causes of your child waking up during the night, but it is without your control to ensure that the room temperature is not one of them ☺