When Is It Ok to Let You Child Sleep with a Blanket?

Yes you are being paranoid he will be fine with a blanket. He is almost one year old not a newborn.

Hi!

I usually dress my daughter warm and just put her to bed with an afghan.. has lots of holes in it, she is 2 and still sleeps this way, less worries :)

The sleepsacks and blanket sleepers are great, the blankets wouldn't stay on a one-year old anyway, as they roll around and move around the crib at night. I have used a small fleece blanket in my daughter's crib since she was about 9 mos old- but I tuck in almost completely into a side so that just a corner sticks out- she likes to hold onto it when I put her to bed- so more of a comfort thing.

I think kids that age use blankets more for comfort than for warmth. If he moves in his sleep, he is not going to keep the blanket on him anyway. I never used sleepsacks with my son, but I used to put on a pair of light cotton pajamas with a blanket sleeper over them when it was cold outside.

I don't think you're a paranoid mom! I think it's good to be cautious when it comes to safety. However, I think that a sleep sack or extra sleeper makes more sense for your little one at this point. If he's active enough to make you worry about strangling himself, then he's active enough to kick a blanket off - and what good is a balled up blanket at the corner of the crib? :)

My daughter wore a pair of snug fitting pajamas with a fleece sleep sack or footed sleeper over them until she was three! Even after we moved her to a twin sized bed, she wouldn't keep the blankets on, and the sleeper kept her toasty warm. Even now, at 4, she loves her footed sleepers. Good luck!

We didn't do blankets for a while. I recommend a nice toasty sleeper! He would probably be fine with a small blanket though.

All 3 of my children used a blanket from the day they were born..even in the hospital they wrapped them and then had one laid over them.

A funny story for you.... my younger sister is 7 yrs younger than I am. She had her first child and read every book out there on child care. One night she called in a panic. Seemed her daughter couldn't sleep through the night when she should have been at a year old. We thought and thought and finally she said... "Yea, she sleeps in a heavy sleeper and wakes yet once she gets in bed between DH and I, she sleeps like a log." I then asked what kind of blanket was on her, mabe she needed more....maybe she was cold. Yep, NO blankets as she was fearful her daughter would put the blanket over her face and smother as the book said! I urged her to buy the child blankets and once she did, she didn't have difficulty keep her daughter asleep at night.

I don't believe you are a 'paranoid' mom, just reading to many books maybe that give very odd advice to parents.

Both my children have survived so far with pillows, blankets, stuffed animals etc in many different beds and cribs (travelling a lot). When they were very small, they slept with us in our bed, and i would be very alert so that they did not "drown in our blanket". I find that with our second, my ability to sleep with one eye half-open decreased. When i was a baby i nearly suffocated in my blanket, but my 2 year older brother alerted my mom. So i am aware of the danger, but feel relaxed by making sure the blanket is not too big and/or flexible/stretchy, so that it cannot easily become a hazard. The blanket i almost suffocated in was a large, stretchy one, my mom reports. Now both my children are old enough to be able to lift their heads out of pillows etc. Nights are cold. So my older one sleeps with a thick blanket, and my baby in a knit-wol sleeping bag with arms and a knit-wool blanket on top. She sleeps right at the foot of or bed, and i wake easily. I am pretty sure they won't just suffocate quietly.

D.

My son has slept with a blanket from the get go. If your son is a mover, then you really don't have to worry about it - he's got good enough motor control to wriggle out of the blanket (or scream in frustration!) If he's cold he's not going to sleep as well and that might actually be contributing to his moving around so much.

2 years old! Due to sids it is recommended you wait until the child is 2. My son is 21 months & I feel he is now old enough (2 months shy of 2) that it is okay. He has been fine with it & I also use an afghan his great nana made him. That way it has holes in it so if he did pull it over his face he should be okay. So far it has not been an issue of being over or even too close to his face.
What I did before then was use a halo sleep sack that they make for toddlers & put it over his pajama's. That is the whole point of the halo sleep sacks it is meant to be used as a blanket subsitute over their PJ's. They work great!!
You can google halo sleep sacks & then when you find the website type in toddler sleep sacks in the find browser. I have also seen them at Walmart, Target & Sears.

Hi! There was a similar post to this a few weeks ago, and the mom had the same issue as you with an active child, concerns, etc. As a mother of two, the youngest who is 15 months and VERY active also, I can tell you that it's fine for a baby who is almost one to use a blanket, at least in my experience and opinion! Once they start walking and approaching toddler-hood, the danger of them getting caught or strangled with a blanket is much less. Babies are just more aware and have more coordination once all the motor skills click into place, and once they are mobile. My youngest has been using a blanket for a few months now, basically since she was about 9-10 months old. She likes having it with her for comfort and not only as a cover when it's chilly, but against her face to soothe her sometimes. She can even cover herself with it now! If you are still nervous, try a sleep sack. We used that with both our girls when they were babies during their first winter, and it worked great because it kept them warm but there was no danger of it coming off or moving away from their body (it basically zips up like a sack, and their arms stick out of armholes). I don't think you are paranoid to ask and be concerned - there are so many warnings out there for parents that it's hard not to be like that. It seems like you have to worry about everything sometimes! But I really feel that in this case it's okay to allow the blanket. Good luck and enjoy this stage!

I agree with the other moms who say that you should not worry. I was very careful with our first daughter. I would put her to bed in a onesie in an infant "sleeping bag." I loved those bags! She was born in February, so this is how she slept until the warmer weather. By that time (about 4-5 months old) I put a light blanket in with her rather than the really warm bag. The following fall she was 7-8 months old when the cooler weather came and I started using traditional knit baby blankets. So, even at my most cautious, I would say that you are in the clear. If you are still having doubts, you could always tuck the edges of the blanket under the sides of the mattress so that it isn't likely to move around and get bunched up--I started my second one out doing this since I put a blanket in with her earlier than with #1.

We LOVE the Halo Sleep Sacks. My kids wore them until they were in beds. They come in fleece and cotton, so even if you want a light one for spring, you can use the cotton. Also, there are sizes XS, S, M, L and XL....to cover newborn to 24 months (or more depending on the size of your child). My mother-in-law even found a pattern for one and made cute fleece ones. With both children, I used the yellow fleece or cotton ones for their first year only at bedtime and it was another signal that it's time to sleep for a long time (ie to help them sleep thru the night). Both my babes are in beds now, but I probably had about 8 to pass on to my sister-in-law when she had her baby!! Love them enough to give them as a shower gift many, many times.

(PS. I have found them cheaper at TJ Maxx/Marshalls, but don't always have them. Babies R Us always does. Bought a few on sale at babycenter.com.)

Get a knitted blanket that has holes in it. That's I first used with my son. That way if it does end up around your childs face, it has the holes in it. And of course, make sure the holes in the knitting aren't too big.

Hi L.:

I had the same paranoia!!! When my son was able to crawl and push up on his own, I allowed my son to sleep with one blanket. It was a small, light one that he could kick off or get out of easily. On cold nights, I always used to put him in a really thick sleeper, with the light blanket. As long as the house was between 68 and 72, I felt he wouldn't be too cold.

After a year, I decided to go with more or heavier blankets on a cold night. He's always been fine. When he moves, he kicks them off. At less than 8 months, I always used heavy sleepers instead.

The problem is that when it is safe to sleep with a blanket, your kid is able to get rid of the blanket. SO I always had the problem that my kids would inevitably end up blanketless in the middle of the night, freezing. My solution was to dress them in many layers of pajamas. I just had the "blanket" be part of their clothes.
My son has sensitive skin so if he had anything synthetic right next to his body he would get a rash. I think that its how it started. He would have cotton pjs as the first layer and then two layers of polar fleece. It worked like a charm.
Good luck!

My daughters are both 'winter babies' and have always slept with blankets. They're now 7 and 2. If you are really concerned about strangulation, use a comforter instead. :) (Oh, and my kids have always had pillows too ... no harm done there either. When they were smaller I would put the pillow under the bottom sheet when I made the crib/bed so that they couldn't get their heads under the pillow during the night.)

Both of my boys always had a blanket. If you are that worried put him at the foot of the crib and tuck the blanket in around him. I always go in before I go to bed just to check and see if they are still covered.

It's not so much strangulation as it's suffocation. If your son is almost a year and is very active and healthy there is no reason not to give him a blanket. If you are really worried, start off with a large receiving blanket. Once it starts getting a lot colder, you can double up with a loosely knitted blanket (with holes throughout). I understand your being nervous about it but I was worried about my baby last year and she was really little. Her doc said that she was okay with a thin blanket even then.

Oh, and remember that babies sleep better in cold anyways; everyone does. Good luck.

I can only reiterate a rousing support the other moms gave for halo sleep sacks. When my tall boys outgrew the XL size, I sewed longer ones out of similar material. They loved them, and cannot suffocate. I still used blanket weight jammies to keep their arms warm, but loved the sleepy sacks. They knew it was story time when they came out, and would go get them when they were drowsy. They were comfy for them. Because many new moms don't know about them, I always, always, always give them as a shower gift. They seriously changed how we did things, and I never would have known if someone hadn't done the same for me. Run don't walk to get one today, love, love, love them.
Good luck,
D.

I use a small blanket and wrap it around my child's torso and secure it with a safety pin or sew velcro on the edges. Your very own sleepsack!

If you are worried about a blanket, have you tried putting your son in a sleep sack? My son used one until after he was out of his crib. I never had to worry about blankets, and they kept him plenty warm at night. Here is a link to the website, but I am pretty sure you can buy them at Babies R Us as well. https://www.halosleep.com/products/detail/23/prints_and_s...
Hope this helps!

Honestly I don't think my daughter had a blanket until she was in a twin bed which was at about 2 years 9 months. I didn't give her a blanket sooner, not because of fear of strangulation, but mostly like your son, she was all over the place, and if they aren't going to stay in one place, the blanket won't either and will end up off of them anyway. Just buy warm footed PJs and make sure his room is warm enough, but not too warm. At his age I did pile the crib comforter and other blankets under her. I did that because the mattress was SOOO cold.

All of my four kids had favorite blankets, that they slept with. The strangulation worry would be from strings or other things 'dangling' from the blanket. Just make sure there aren't any holes or strings. I believe kids need to have soothing items. Also if as he gets older ends up walking around with his blanket it is a cue for you he is tired and needs a nap. Also my kids did move around alot as they slept.

C. W
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My youngest is just a year (on the 18th of this month), and has had her "blankie"(full-size, soft fleece baby blanket) for a few months now. It is more for comfort than warmth though. She was almost 9 lbs at birth, and has always been a strong baby, able to lift her head for several minutes at birth, so I never "really" worried about much with her....I guess her being my third is something too?!lol
Trust your instincts, if you feel your little one will be ok, then go with it...but if you have any questions about it, ask your Doc. Mine is very active in her sleep also, but there has never been a cocern with her suffocating...
Good luck, and remember to trust yourself!!

My daughter has always slept with a blanket (except when it's too hot). She has never gotten it wrapped around her neck or face. She too was always a very active sleeper and would wake up in a completely different position than when I put her down, but when it's cold and she's under her blanket, she doesn't move around nearly as much. And don't worry if he wakes up one morning with the blanket wrapped around his legs. That's just because crib blankets are never big enough to tuck in and if you slept with your covers untucked and did any amount of rolling over in your sleep, the same thing would happen. I wouldn't say you're being paranoid, just cautious.

I have covered up my babies from newborn on. the whole sids thingis scary but that is for those who used to put TOO MANY BLANKETS on the baby. 1 good warm blanket is fine maybe even 2 just don't tuck baby up tightly..

Strangulation is always a worry, but a more likely problem is that your little one lacks the coordination to keep himself covered. A blanket is only effective if it's covering his body. So put him in a blanket sleeper, with or without hand covers, and let him roll around to his heart's content while still being warm. If it's very cold, you can put regular pajamas on underneath, with or without feet or socks. A small blanket, if he has one for comfort, is okay -- my son had a favorite (one of our old king-sized blankets) so we cut it up into sections - one for the bed, one for the car, one for the diaper bag, and one to wash!

I lost my first child when he was 8 months old to an accident that involved suffocation. I was paranoid before that happened and even more so with my next two children. I never put my children to bed with blankets. I've always used the halo sleep sacks for both infant and toddler. Toddler size is hard to find, I had to order online through Target. When my two year old went into a twin bed is when he started using blankets.

I'd be nervous to put a sleep sack on walker - if he stood up in the crib my fear would be he'd catch his feet and pitch forward. Our son sleeps with blankets fine but I really love the fleece sleepers too. LL Bean makes incredible ones - pricey but so thick, we try to find them on sale...