How to Pick Out the Ideal Toddler Pillow for Your Baby
Every new parent knows the struggle: waking up
in the middle of the night, pretty much every single night, because your
precious little angel is hungry, or thirsty, or afraid of the blurry fiend from
under the bed, or simply refuses to be sleepy when you feel sleepy. Once you
have kids, the alarm clock becomes all but obsolete. But did you ever stop and
take a moment to consider how the pillow which
we use affects the quality of our sleep and dictates our waking
patterns? It is actually a huge factor in the night time routines of both
adults and young children. A lousy pillow will deny support to the head, neck,
and back, and rob the sleeper of their rest, as well as bring about a host of
other issues. So how can you spare your child this kind of lowkey torment and
choose a good pillow for your toddler?
These
are the essential things to look out for
First off, you should inquire about a pillow’s
equivalent of a warrantee, otherwise known as a “guarantee of satisfaction”. What
this essentially refers to is the length of time for which your pillow will be
as good as when you first bough it. It is a chance to avoid all the hassle of
bursting seams, deformed filling, and overall poor production side effects. A
guarantee of satisfaction will vary wildly between any two given brands: some
pillows have it for only a month and a half, while others may be covered for a
whole of three years. In general, the longer the guarantee duration, the more
likely it is that you will get a pillow of high quality.
Next, consider any potential allergy triggers. Allergic
reactions can be a downright crick in the neck even for adults with
fully-formed immune systems. Babies are a hundred times more sensitive to
everything, and chances are that your toddler is allergic to more than one
thing. Perhaps they get irritated by wool, or feathers might cause them to
sneeze in bouts every night. A good way to go about it is to observe the label,
or confirm with an informed vendor or such, to see whether the pillow you are
considering is hypoallergenic. These are lifesavers when it comes to miniature
nuisances such as dust, mold, microbes, dust mites, and all the rest of the
microscopic menace. Pillows from organic materials, such as the one at this
link, are typically hypoallergenic by default.
The cover fibers and filling material are
extremely important as well. Pillow covers are typically made of cotton
(organic or not), synthetic fibers, or cotton-polyester blends. Looking at the
inside, the pillow filling greatly varies, from fancy memory foam to plain old buckwheat.
The most readily available types are feather, down, foam, and synthetic fills.
These are the most common choices because they are fairly easy to keep clean.
Whichever filling type you opt for, each will offer different levels of comfort
and support.
If you would like to know more about pillow
filling types and why that matters, visit this link: https://hullopillow.com/pillow-filling/
Pay close attention to the maintenance
instructions. Typically, either the whole pillow will be machine washable, or
it will have a removable pillowcase that is washed separately. In the latter
case, remember that the pillow itself is usually not washable.
Also make sure to test the firmness. Simply
press the pillow down and see how it reacts. If it does not regain its shape,
it is too soft and will offer no support. Conversely, if it does not move at
all it will be too hard and will not provide any comfort to the little sleeper.
Lastly, there is one particular thing you need
to avoid at all costs. Never give your toddler a regular pillow, the kind
adults might sleep on. Although it might seem irrelevant, it is a serious
mistake which is really easy to make. Regular pillows don’t offer proper
support, and will actually hurt a toddler’s neck and back. Toddler pillows are
smaller, flat, and designed for making sure that your child (and you!) get a
good, restful night’s sleep.