Is your house too cold for your baby? | Shine365 from Marshfield Clinic (2024)

FAQs

Is your house too cold for your baby? | Shine365 from Marshfield Clinic? ›

“If the room temperature is comfortable for an adult it's comfortable for a baby,” said Dr. Julia Kyle, a Marshfield Clinic pediatrician. Healthy, full-term babies can regulate their body temperatures and are comfortable indoors between 65 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit when dressed in light layers, she said.

Your baby can't put into words how they feel, so it's up to you as a parent to find the right room temperature for them. You don't want your baby's room to be either too hot or too cold. It's recommended that the best temperature for babies is between 68 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit or 20 to 22 degrees Celsius.

Cold, damp homes also promote mould growth, and the spores released from moulding surfaces easily enter children's lungs causing allergic reactions and varying degrees of asthma. In addition, running and playing in cold air increases the risk for exercise-induced asthma attacks. Bath time in cold homes is extra risky.

When is it too cold to go out with newborns and babies? In general, playing outside at all in temperatures or wind chills below -15 degrees F should be avoided because baby's exposed skin can start to freeze within minutes. Wind chills make the temperature feel much colder than it actually is due to wind gusts.

SIDS is less common after 8 months of age, but parents and caregivers should continue to follow safe sleep practices to reduce the risk of SIDS and other sleep-related causes of infant death until baby's first birthday. More than 90% of all SIDS deaths occur before 6 months of age.

Adjust the Room Temperature: The recommended room temperature for baby's sleep is 68 - 72° F. Keeping it in this range will help prevent them from getting too cold (which can lead to wakeups) or too warm (which can lead to overheating, a risk factor for SIDS.)

Babies are sensitive to temperature changes and can wake up if they feel too cold. In this blog post, we look at reasons why your little one might wake during the night and provide tips on how to ensure your baby stays warm at night throughout the winter season.

Be careful not to decrease your home's temperature to less than 55 degrees in winter or allow your home to warm to more than 80 degrees in summer, as it may leave your home susceptible to damage. An indoor temperature of less than 55 degrees may lead to freezing pipes, while anything more than 80 may damage drywall.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends setting your thermostat no lower than 64 degrees (F) in the Winter months while people are in the home. If there are infants or elderly individuals, they recommend keeping the temperature at 70 degrees at a minimum.

The results showed a positive correlation between temperature and SIDS in 3–12 month-old infants specifically. On days when temperatures were greater than 29 °C, there was a 2.78 times greater chance of sudden infant death than on 20 °C days.

How to know when baby is cold at night? ›

If your baby is too cold at night, the core of their body (chest, neck, back, and tummy) would feel cool to the touch. It's important to know that your baby's fingers and toes are not a good indicator of warmth. Your baby could be dressed perfectly yet still have cooler fingers or toes.

Do Babies Sleep Better in a Cold Room? Babies tend to sleep better in a comfortably cool room. Because babies have a greater proportion of exposed surface area for their weight, it is easier for them to lose body heat.

Balancing the temperature is not only about comfort but about your baby's safety. For example, a room that's too hot can increase the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), while a too-cold room could lead to hypothermia and frostbite in extreme cases.

The temperature of a child's bedroom can impact their health in several ways. It can affect their sleep, respiratory function, and overall immune system. For example, a study by the University of Sydney found that children who slept in cooler bedrooms were more likely to experience upper respiratory tract infections.

Children generally tend to lose heat from their bodies faster than adults do. They also tend to be less aware if they're experiencing symptoms, given their high energy levels and tendency to be more physically active. Babies who sleep in cold bedrooms can also be at risk.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, it is OK to take a newborn outside when the temperatures are between −15 F and 90 F. Anything beyond this range can be harmful to newborns.

What Room Temperature Is Just Right? According to pediatric sleep experts, your newborn's room should be between 68 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit (that's 20 to 22 degrees Celsius). 2 That temperature tends to be comfortable for children and adults, too–not too hot, not too cold.

It is important to make sure that your baby is a comfortable temperature – not too hot or too cold. The chance of SIDS is higher in babies who get too hot. A room temperature of 16-20°C – with light bedding or a lightweight, well-fitting baby sleep bag– is comfortable and safe for sleeping babies.

One of the key ways to help your baby sleep better and longer is by maintaining a temperature of 68-72°F.