How to Keep Your Child Cool at Night

In the UK, during the small amount of time each year when we do experience warm temperatures, it’s safe to say many of us find it tough to deal with.

Day or night, we can all get a bit restless when it’s hot, especially the kids. A night of tossing and turning in the heat can snowball into agitated children and skewed routines.

As we’re currently in a British heatwave, I wanted to put together some tips that should help your kids stay as cool and calm as possible in the hot winter evenings, ensuring they get the sleep they need for the day ahead.

Keep Everything Closed

This is an absolute must-do throughout the day in all rooms but especially the bedrooms. Curtains, blinds and even windows are recommended to be kept closed as much as possible. It may not seem like it, but more often than not inside your house will be the coolest place to be. Keep the warm air and sunlight out of your kids’ rooms at least until the sun goes down, then look to let some fresh air in.

Open Up the Attic

If there is one thing that you should keep open, then this is it. This is something that often goes overlooked during hot weather, but can be of great benefit not just at night time but throughout the day too. If you have access to one, open up the door to your attic as this will allow all the trapped hot air in the house out and up. As we all know, hot air rises, so pave the way for it to do so!

Making The Bed 

For your children to be as comfortable as possible in bed, consider what they’re actually sleeping in/on. It’s impractical and unnecessary to have multiple mattresses for the colder or hotter months, so think about one that does it all. Hybrid mattresses give you both the softness and comfort of memory foam, while offering the breathability that is so important for regulating temperature when it’s hot.

Keep things simple on top with thin sheets, a thin duvet or scrap the duvet altogether and go Mediterranean with just the duvet cover. Another great trick is popping the kids’ pillow case in the freezer for an hour or so before bedtime as this will help their body temperature while nodding off.

Unplug Electricals

All our kids these days have numerous electrical toys and gadgets around the house, but these can be a hindrance when regulating temperature. When it’s hot, make sure you keep all electricals off and unplugged in their rooms as televisions, gaming equipment and other toys can increase the heat when left on standby.

Bring Down Body Temperature

A cool bath can be the perfect way to get your children’s body temperature down just before climbing into bed. If this doesn’t fit into your bedtime routine, simply run their wrists under some cold water, or have some wet flannels in the fridge to place on their foreheads while reading them a story. These can also be easily repeated should they wake up in the middle of the night.