When Is It Safe to Let Your Child Use a Pillow?

My son was just about one when I gave him his pillow. He's always wanted one from about 6 months on he slept better on a pillow than without one but I wanted till he was one to put one in his crib and he loves it. When he's sick I stack some pillows in so he can sit up at an angle while sleeping and breathe better and he's been fine. He's 22 months old now and I've never had a problem. His pillow is down but it's a pretty flat down pillow.

Hi. Our pediatrician gave us the go around 12 months. My son actually asked for a pillow. I found the perfect child sized pillow and cases at One Step Ahead.

Here is the one that I have, but they do have other choices there:
http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId...

It's small, flat, and firm. I would recommend that you buy only one pillow case and make your others if you are handy with that type of thing... to save on some of the cost and to add variety.

Best of luck!

--P.

My son is not quite 18 months old, but has slept with a standard sized, kind of flat and very soft pillow in his bed for the last couple of months. Sometimes he uses it and sometimes he doesn't. He also has several small and one big, soft Mickey Mouse stuffed toy in his crib...in addition to the blankets he likes to have (the baby sized ones).

We don't have any problems and have never found him in an unsafe or compromising position in bed.

My advice is to use your best judgement based on the habits, sleeping patterns, etc. of your little one. Good luck to you!

S.~

That’s a great question (that I never thought about asking)! I found that anytime my son would be playing on my bed he would always lay on a pillow and look so cute, so when he was about 11 months old I got him one of those little kids decorative pillows I think its nemo?? He starts out on it but once he rolls over he's off of it, then it becomes a toy. He is still in his crib and rarely ever uses it for its intended use, but loves to play with it! lol! Once in a while if we are watching a movie or something I will get it and we’ll lay on the floor together both using pillows and he gets a kick out of that and will lay on it most of the time. Hope this helps

I use a very flat one for both mine. But they didn't want one til they got into big beds. One was 2 1/2 and the other 2 when she got to a bed.

Hi S.,

I have always given my children a pillow as soon as they could hold their heads up and change positions. My children always slept better and longer with them. I start out with a flat (or as flat as I can find) and a sealed (zippered) cover. Then by 2 1/2 I have them pick out their own pillow. I think my children were into pillows by like 10 months old. So 20 months is way old enough. He is probably old enough to go pick out what he likes.

We all like a little softness under our heads, and 2 years old is way more than old enough to ensure no suffocation. I mean by 2 they are pretty much suffocationg you with energy and talking, so they have pleanty presence of mind to change their head position.

Good luck and God Bless

S.

According to my ped. it is safe to use a pillow at 12 months (the "magic age" for a lot of things it seems) However, my 22mo still does not use one. He sleeps fine without one, so I guess I just haven't thought of it yet. He is still in the crib. My older started using a pillow at 18 months, as that was when we tried to transition him to the "big boy" bed, and I guess assumed a pillow should go with it. I would start out pretty flat for an easy adjustment, and I would go for a synthetic filling, in case he might be allergic to down.

i am not a pillow expert but 20mos seems safe to me. our daughter has been using one since about then when we moved her to toddler bed.

Oh you can totally give him a pillow, I usually gave my kids one around 10 months old. The fact that he is able to position himself and other objects to make himself comfortable proves he would be able to move his head if it got stuffy. Once babies are crawling well and pulling up, they are able to move if breathing gets difficult because of something fluffy. Happy pillows!!

typically i think it's 2. but they're also not supposed to have blankets until that time, so if he already has a blanket you should be able to give him a pillow. mine who's just over 2 has had a blanket and pillow since he was under 1. just go in and check on him periodically to make sure he doesn't have the blanket wrapped around his face.

stacy

I'm not sure what pediatricians say, but my kids were all 2. And the pillow was somewhat flat. I gave them fluffy pillows around 3 if they wanted them.

Hi S.,
For my son I waited until a few weeks for him to turn one then I gave him my pillow , because he loved it! and then a blanket.
I would suggest, try laying down w/him in one of your pillows while you supervise him (if you haven't) and see how good he does and then little by little let him use it by himself either one of yours or explain to him he is a big boy and he will choose his own pillow at home or at the store. Good luck!

Hi S.,

I don't know what kind of advice you will get here, but my experiance is this; once they can crawl, I let them have a pillow. Go for one that is appropriate (height wise) for his little body. I wouldn't invest in an expensive one, you are going to need to replace it many times over in the next couple of years (kids get sick, spill, etc...) The elevation of the pillow may really help with the reflux at night. My daughter has reflux, and she stacks pillows so that she is sleeping at almost a 45 degree angle, looks uncomfortable to me, but if she slips off during the night, she sits up and stacks them again! My youngest is 4 now, but has been sleeping with a pillow (because of the reflux) since she could crawl, at about five months!