For the first year the rule is simple: a clear cot and nothing in it. Then your child turns one and the rules quietly relax, except nobody sends the memo about what relaxes when. Here is the memo.
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Pillows and duvets: allowed after one, needed later
The Lullaby Trust guidance is no pillows or duvets before 12 months. After the first birthday they become an option rather than a requirement, and plenty of toddlers sleep happily without either until they move to a big bed. When you do introduce them, small and modest wins: a low, firm toddler pillow rather than an adult one, and a light toddler duvet suited to the room temperature rather than the family spare. A well-fitting toddler sleeping bag remains a perfectly good alternative for as long as your child tolerates one, and it has the side benefit of slowing down cot escape artists.
Teddies and comforters
After one, a soft toy or comforter in the cot is fine, and often genuinely useful, because a comforter is a self-settling tool: something that smells of home and stays with them when you leave the room. One is the number. A single bear does a job; a menagerie is bedding with eyes. Choose something small, without loose parts, long ribbons or battery packs, and if a comforter becomes the beloved one, buy an identical spare now and rotate them so both smell right, because the day the only one goes missing is a day you do not want to live through unprepared.
What to wear
Pyjamas or a sleepsuit, plus the sleeping bag or duvet, dressed for the room the same way as in the baby years: check the chest, not the hands, and adjust layers to the temperature rather than the season on the calendar. The full temperature and layers system is in our room temperature guide and it applies to toddlers almost unchanged.
The move from cot to big bed
There is no fixed age, and later is usually easier: somewhere between two and three suits most children, and a toddler moved too early gains the one thing the cot was containing, which is the freedom to follow you out of the room. Do not rush the move because a new sibling needs the cot; if that deadline is coming, move the older child a good couple of months ahead of the birth or wait until well after, so the bed is not experienced as an eviction.
The move itself works best boring. Bed in the same spot the cot stood, same bedding feel, identical bedtime routine, a guard rail for the first months, and a properly toddler-proofed room, because the cot walls are gone and the room is now the container: furniture anchored, blind cords out of reach, door situation decided in advance. Then expect the hallway appearances, because every newly bedded toddler tests the exciting new exit. The response is the one from our toddler sleep guide: calm, boring, walked back every time, with the same dull sentence.
When to talk to a professional
If your toddler snores loudly, gasps or pauses in breathing at night, seems in pain, or their sleep changes suddenly alongside illness, talk to your GP or health visitor rather than adjusting the bedding. Gut feelings count too.
Quick answers
When can a toddler have a pillow and duvet?
From 12 months they are allowed; from whenever your child actually seems to want them, they are useful. Many families wait until the move to a big bed. Keep both toddler-sized and light.
Can my toddler sleep with a teddy?
After their first birthday, yes. One small, safe comforter without loose parts is the sweet spot, and a secret identical spare is the best insurance policy in parenting.
When should we move from the cot to a bed?
Between two and three suits most children, and later is generally easier than earlier. Move sooner only if they are climbing out and a sleeping bag no longer slows them down, since falling from a cot escape is the bigger risk.
What should a toddler wear to bed?
Pyjamas or a sleepsuit with a sleeping bag or light duvet, layered for the room temperature. Check their chest feels warm rather than hot, and skip hats indoors at every age.
The bed is the easy part
What goes in the bed is a settled question within a week. What happens at bedtime and at 2am is the part that runs for years, and that is what SlumberPlan is for: a routine built around your toddler that updates as they grow, and a WhatsApp line that knows them and answers straight away when the big-bed move turns bedtime into a negotiation. It is AI. Both parents share one plan and one line, there is a 30-day money-back guarantee, and you can cancel anytime. Start at slumberplan.com.
SlumberPlan is currently available to families in the UK. We're not taking US or Canadian signups yet.