Pillows and Kids

I gave my son a pillow around 18 months. He starting waking at night for no reason so I gave him one and he has never woken up during the night since. I used an adult pillow that was thin but firm. It is synthetic and offers just the right support and elevation. It is the width of the crib so it doesn't move. He loves it.

I started giving mine (I have four) pillows all around the age of one- mostly after they turned one. They are physically able to do a lot (plus, ALL of mine are wigglers while sleeping), so I had no worries at all of suffocation. Also, before I gave them pillows I noticed that the way they preferred to sleep was comfortable to them without a pillow- and actually notice now that sometimes they don't even use their pillows (they are 6, 5, 3 and 1). Ikea has some fantastic small first pillows. They are in the baby section and they also sell pillow cases that fit the small pillow that match comforters that they sell- all very reasonably priced and cute. I used that size pillow for all my little ones. On top of offering such a product, ALL of Ikea's upholstered and plush products have no harmful chemicals in them as well- basically EVERY other non-organic company does- therefore, much of our upholstered furniture is from there as well. (but I don't know if you have one near you or not...)

I gave one to my son right around 2 years old when I put him in a big boy bed. The kind was a challenge- they are all so thick! I ended up with a down alternative that is very firm so it wouldn't puff around his face, but does compress better than a standard foam one.

Like the other mom that commented, I gave my son an IKEA infant pillow (very thin and only about the size of a travel pillow) that seemed to help him sleep much better when he was almost a year old. However, he was a major back sleeper, so I didn't worry about it. If he tossed and turned a lot I may not have wanted him to have it. He didn't get a real pillow (and preferred his little pillow) until this month when he turned 2. The pillow he has now is also from IKEA and is an adult pillow but doesn't have a lot of stuffing and isn't very dense at all. He doesn't like to sleep on the type of pillows that we sleep on, they are too big of a wedge for his little neck.

When my son was a year to 18 month I gave him the boppy pillow I used to nurse him on. It wasn't to soft or hard. I like that it's half mooned that way when he moves he still has pillow to put his head on. He is 3 1/2 and he still likes to sleep on it.

my daughter is 2 1/2. i have offered her a pillow twice. once when she was 25 months and switched to a toddler bed, and once when she was 29 months because she asked for it. both times, she had a hard time going to and staying asleep. she is a stomach sleeper since she could turn over on her own, and it is awkward for her. people have made comments to me about it as if i'm depriving her of something, but i know her best, and i have to deal with it when she doesn't sleep.