How to make your child’s room cosy for Winter

Here are some tips on creating that cosy oasis of calm in your child’s room ready for snuggling through the winter months!

 

Encourage that snuggly feeling

Layering soft furnishings in a reading nook and on the bed is a great way to soften a child’s room. Think beyond this by adding a fluffy, warm rug next to their bed for when they get out of bed first thing on a cold, dark winter’s morning. Think window seats lined with cosy cushions,  floor cushions, a lamb’s skin rug on a desk chair too soften it . The layering of texture is also a great sensory trigger for children and will help them relax and get the idea of calming down and cosying up.

 

Keep them Warm

Make sure duvet is the correct tog and that they are wearing the correct pjs and/or vest.

Make sure to use a tog rating suitable for the season, taking into account the warmth of your child’s bedroom. My son’s room is on the colder side and he runs hot generally so in the winter he sleeps in a vest, pjs and under a 13.5 tog duvet ( we have one that is made of a 9.0 and a 4.5 tog part so that you can use it all year round). Remember babies under 12 months should not be using a duvet. Over 12months they should use a 4.5 tog or less until pre school age when a cosy warm 10 – 13.5 tog can be used until the age of 10.

By the way I thought that I’d sneak in the “vest wearing” seems a little controversial and old school of me but vests really do help to keep anyone of any age warm. There is science backing me up here, by keep your core warm blood flows more freely to your extremities and keeps those warm too. So yes, in the winter (and spring and autumn if I’m honest) my 6 year old son wears a vest.

Cotton bedding could also be swapped for warmer brushed cotton sheets, cotton flannel or jersey knit.

Hang their dressing gown within reach for first thing in the morning and have slippers by their bed.

Consider hanging thicker curtains in a warm colour to keep out drafts, keep the heat in and make the room look warmer. My son has thermal blackout lined curtains all year round and they really do keep out a draft in the winter and keep the glare of the very early morning sun out in the summer.

Books

Well stocked book shelves will serve you well in the winter months especially. There’s nothing quite like snuggling up with a good book and this is an important thing to let your children appreciate. You can help them by making books and a cosy spot accessible to them and you never they may surprise you! I’ve frequently caught my then 5, now 6 year old reading to himself in bed first thing in the morning. I planted this notion in his head buy placing an Ikea spice rack made into a book shelf just over his bed which he can reach and choose his books from.

 

Have some Rainy Day Activities Ready

A stock of good indoor fun for rainy days is essential to keeping the little and not so little ones busy when the weather is just too grim. Admittedly we dress for the weather and get on with our plans regardless as we live in Edinburgh and we’d be housebound for the whole winter if we didn’t! But we also have science experiments, board games, marble runs, electricity sets, martian sand, digging for dinosaurs, junk modelling and all sorts at hand in a special shelf under the window in my little one’s room for that Sunday when you really just can’t face the weather.

 

Accent with Warm Colours

Accent with warm colours be it in the form of decorations or soft furnishings or seasonal artwork  this will jolly up the place during the darker winter months.

 

Lighting

Make sure you have adequate lighting for getting dressed in the morning and for story time at bedtime. A mixture of warm ambient lights and white task lighting will help banish the darkness and suit both morning and evening moods.

 

Scents

Try warming scents like cinnamon, orange, nutmeg and pine throughout the house to help get cosy for winter.

I hope all these tips help you to make your child’s room cosy for winter so that you can enjoy the season together. I’d love to see how you’ve made your child’s room more cosy for winter and hear any thoughts, so please do comment.