Wearing a cap to bed helps kids sleep through a cold night

Landismom is a good problem solver:

When it started to get cold this winter, my three-year-old son kept waking up in the middle of the night. We turn our heat down after everyone goes to bed, for environmental and money-saving purposes. He kicks off the blankets in his sleep--we re-cover him when we go to bed, but with his short hair, he'd get cold early in the morning and wake up waaaay too soon. I started making him wear a knit cap to bed, like when he was a baby, and he's back to sleeping through the night.

Tags: Parenting

Comments

[jim]

My family thanks you.

Our son has slept through the night since 3 months. It's been great and, yes, we know we're blessed. We also generally turn down the air conditioning at night for similar reasons... and because the heat pump is outside our window.

However as it finally turned cold, he's been rising earlier than he used to. We suspected that he has been getting cold so we have made sue to put him in heavier pajamas and/or make sure he is wearing a onsie underneath. This has helped... but not solved the problem.

He used to always wear a cap when younger. I just hadn't thought of using one now. Generally he keeps them on so it should work.

Thanks

[Tracey]

I immediately thought of the antique children's books I collect, which often show young kids in their nightclothes, wearing their nightcaps. Ah, the wisdom of the days gone by...

[dr mike phD]

Great idea.

[landismom]

Glad to be of help!

[Lynn S.]

My oldest girl Josie started wearing a knit hat to bed this winter. We don't heat our upstairs mostly because we sleep better in the cold, but she was getting too cold. The hat she was wearing wasn't one I wanted to get trashed, so I crocheted her an old-fashioned wool nightcap:

http://www.thenewhomemaker.com/node/70745

We've since put red ribbon around the top as well as the neck edge for ties; as made, it was slipping off in the night. I had to make the pattern up; there isn't anything even remotely like a nightcap pattern out there. She wears it almost every night, even though she says it's a little scratchy.

[Jack]

I learned this when my son was an infant (2000). He had a nice warm set of sleeper pajamas that included a hood (with bunny ears!). The nights that he wore that sleeper where the nights that he slept the longest.

[Jim]

Jack-

I know what you mean. We swaddled our son from the first day at the hospital. He was always really toasty and we've been blessed that he's slept through night since he's been a couple of month's old.

Jim

[BK]

Heard that this was not recommended, per What to expect....