How to choose the right duvet for your child

A good night's sleep is crucial to whether it will be a good day. 
This applies to both you and your child. Here, the duvet plays an important role.
 

A good duvet gives better sleep. We have created a guide to help you choose the right duvet for your child.

You must be aware of this when choosing a duvet

Choosing a duvet is largely a matter of temperament. But there are a few things that you can benefit from before you run the Dankort through.

• How big is the duvet? Does it fit the child and the bed?
• What material is the quilt made of? 

Fiber, down or wool - which is best?

Duvets for children are most often found in fiber or down, but can now also be found in several places in wool. It is a matter of taste and pleasure what you choose here, but of course there is a difference between the materials.

The fiber duvet is a good and cheaper alternative to duvets with natural filling. Fiber duvets mimic the properties of down and feathers, including the ability to insulate. In addition, the fiber quilt has the excellent quality that it can be washed and dried again and again, without losing its shape and without destroying the fibers. If you have a child with allergies, the fiber duvet can therefore be a good solution. 

Tip: When you tumble dry the duvet, it is important that it dries completely in the tumble dryer, otherwise it will mould. If you weigh the duvet before and after drying, you can check that it is 100% dry. A few tennis balls in the tumble dryer also help to ensure that the filling is distributed evenly. 

The down comforter is the one most people choose. The down duvet is naturally equipped with very good insulating properties. It also has good ventilation properties, so that excess heat can easily escape from the duvet. This ensures a good temperature under the duvet. However, the down duvet does not stand up to machine washing as often as the fiber duvet, but does better by drying and airing outside. If you have a garden with a drying line, it is therefore obvious to choose a down comforter. There is hardly anything more delicious than an air-dried duvet.

The wool duvet is a good choice all year round. Wool is a natural product that has amazing abilities to regulate heat and absorb moisture from the body, so that the temperature under the vision always feels comfortable. Wool regulates both cold and heat at a level that neither fiber nor down can match. Regardless of whether the child sweats or freezes, the wool regulates the child's body temperature. These are excellent properties in a healthy sleeping environment. The wool duvet can be washed on a wool program or aired on the clothesline in the garden. 

See our selection of duvets for babies and juniors

When do you change from a baby duvet to a junior duvet?

At some point, the baby duvet must be replaced with the junior duvet - but when? The simple answer is: When your child throws off the baby duvet, it's time to switch to the junior duvet. As long as the baby blanket stays on, there is no need to change. 

For a more accurate answer, you need to find the tape measure. It's nice to be able to pull the duvet well up around the ears without the toes sticking out at the other end. Children grow at different rates and ultimately your child's height determines when the baby duvet comes out and the junior duvet moves in. 

A baby quilt measures 100 cm. in length and the junior duvet is 140 cm. long.

The baby quilt can typically be used until the child grows longer than 90 cm., which for many children happens around the age of 1. The junior duvet can be used until the child has reached approx. 120 cm. It is of course individual when it happens and that is precisely why you should measure height and not age. But children are often ready for the adult duvet when they are 6-7 years old. 

Use the size guide here as a rule of thumb when choosing between a baby duvet and a junior duvet.

Size guide

Type	Size	Child's height
Babydyne	70 x 100 cm.	Up to 90 cm. (approx. 1 year)
Juniordyne	100 x 140 cm.	Up to 120 cm. (6-7 years)
Adult duvet	140 x 200 cm.	Over 120 cm.

 

Tip: The baby quilt can often be used in the pram for a longer time. There is not so much space here to kick the duvet off and it can be tucked well around the child. This gives the baby quilt a little longer life. 

When the child sleeps outside in the winter

Many children sleep outside in the pram - also in winter. Fortunately, you can easily do that in Denmark. According to the National Board of Health's recommendations is completely safe as long as the child is healthy and the temperature does not fall below minus 10 degrees. However, you must pay attention to the pram's location, heat insulation capacity and the child's clothing. 

It is mostly about common sense. Place the pram in a good corner sheltered from wind, rain and frost. Make sure the pram is wind and waterproof all around. Wrap the child well in warm clothes and a duvet that covers the whole body. 

But the most important advice from the Danish Health Authority is to supervise when the child sleeps outside. Small children under 1 year of age in particular are particularly vulnerable to the cold. They move less when they sleep and don't necessarily react themselves if they start to freeze. 

Check if the child is comfortable by feeling the nape of the neck, where the skin should feel suitably warm.

Choose a duvet that removes moisture and retains heat

Natural materials such as wool and down help regulate the body's temperature - regardless of whether the child sleeps inside or outside, where the weather plays a role. 

You've probably tried waking up in a cold sweat. Everything sticks to the body and you sweat and freeze at the same time. It is completely natural for the body to release moisture during sleep. The problem arises if the moisture cannot get through the duvet. 

Look at the materials throughout the bed, from the duvet and pillow to the cover, sheet and nightwear. Are the materials natural and breathable? It doesn't really matter what we put the children in when they sleep. Cotton bed linen has a far greater temperature-regulating effect than, for example, artificial or synthetic materials.

It is especially important to think about temperature regulation when you have small children who sleep most of the day and cannot turn themselves over or kick off the covers. 

Young children do not regulate their own body temperature in the same way as older children or adults. Here you need a temperature-regulating duvet, which absorbs moisture and at the same time keeps the baby dry and warm. You get that with natural materials such as wool and down. 

Arctic & Nordisk Tekstil has many years of experience with quilts and explains that the duvet's warmth is determined by the air in the duvet. It is therefore primarily the air that retains the heat. The lighter and airier the filling, the less filling we need to keep warm. If, for example, two duvets with down filling are of equal thickness, the one that weighs the least will be the warmest. 

You can also help the good indoor climate in bed on the way by turning the duvet aside in the morning so that the moisture from night sweat evaporates. When you do air out the children's room, you can just throw the duvet up on the windowsill so that it also gets some fresh air.  

According to Arctic & Nordisk Tekstil, it is a good idea to let the duvet steam off before making the bed in the morning. The duvet may be shaken and aired regularly, but preferably not exposed to direct sunlight - so keep the cover on when you air the duvet in sunshine. 

It provides better sleep for your child and, by extension, also better sleep for you.

Pillows for children

You don't need to think about a pillow for your child during the first year. The baby needs freedom of movement for the head and a pillow will otherwise be in the way.  

When you buy your first junior duvet, you can conveniently buy a pillow with it. But until then, most babies sleep best without a pillow. 

When the child reaches school age, you can use a low adult pillow.