What is the importance of a comforter for your child's sleep?

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Our tips for your child's sleep

It's not always easy for the youngest to fall asleep. Therefore, parents compete with ingenuity and ideas to find the habits and ritual that will suit their child. Among these solutions, the comfort toy is a great classic. While it can take several forms, it allows the child to feel reassured in order to relax and therefore find sleep more easily. Discover the importance of the comfort toy, when it is recommended to stop using it, how to choose one, and what other tips there are to promote your child's sleep.

What is the purpose of a comfort toy?

The comfort toy aims to help your child comfort themselves, reassure themselves and therefore more easily find sleep or better cope with separation from parents. It allows the child to develop their ability to be alone, but also to feel more secure during moments of transition. In other words, the comfort toy helps bridge the gap between the "known" (parents, home, etc.) and the unknown (being alone, daycare, etc.). This is what psychologists call a transitional object.

While the transition period usually occurs between 12 and 18 months, when the child expresses their desire for exploration, the comfort toy has been present in their life since birth. As the first gift from parents to their child, it has been there from the beginning, and that's what gives it its reassuring and comforting character. Thanks to the feeling of security provided by the comfort toy, the child thus feels capable of more things and experiences different situations more serenely.

You can therefore entrust a comfort toy to your child at home, but also take it everywhere so that your child feels more reassured. Be careful not to lose it, some parents prefer to buy a duplicate to be more prepared.

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When to stop using a comfort toy?

The comfort toy has been part of the child's life since birth and will accompany them in many adventures. Generally, the child will naturally let go of it around the age of 6. However, there are no rules, and the comfort toy can sometimes be kept until 10 or 12 years old.

Your role as a parent will be to accompany this separation in a gentle and progressive manner. For example, you can suggest that the child place the comfort toy on a shelf during playtime. This way, they can still see it if they wish. Then, the comfort toy can be stored in a toy box and used only in the evening, for example. The goal here is to adapt to the child's rhythm to gradually allow them to forget their comfort toy and realize that they can manage their anxiety on their own.

How to choose a comfort toy?

The choice of a comfort toy often belongs to the child, but you can always make a suitable object available. There are many small comfort toys that can be placed next to babies from a very young age. These are small, lightweight stuffed animals, easy to carry and hold, and sometimes even equipped with an attachment system. Simply ensure the presence of the "CE" marking and that the chosen comfort toy is suitable for your child's age to avoid any risks. We will thus offer the child to have their comfort toy next to them at every sleep moment and it's quite naturally that an attachment to this object will generally develop.

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How to promote baby's sleep?

There are different ways to help promote your child's sleep. The environment you create in the bedroom should of course be reassuring and comfortable, but it's also the daily routines you establish that will meet your child's needs.

Create a secure environment

Creating a secure environment involves how you will arrange your child's room. To create a healthy and warm room, opt for a wooden baby room, for example. Choosing a wooden baby room will give you the opportunity to opt for materials with low formaldehyde content, PEFC certified, with solvent-free paint and made in France. You can choose a complete baby room including a wooden baby bed, a chest of drawers with a removable changing table, and a wardrobe, for example. If you want a vintage baby bed, you can choose a wooden baby room model with a retro style like our WOOD baby room. If you opt for a wooden baby room, discover all our maintenance tips here.

Opt for a soothing ritual

While the environment in which your child falls asleep is important, it is also crucial to create soothing and reassuring rituals. This can be reading a story, singing a lullaby, it's up to you to find what suits your child and their age. Once the right ritual is found, apply it every evening so that the child understands that it's time to find calm and let themselves drift off to sleep.

Observe your child's habits and needs

Of course, promoting your child's sleep also involves observing them to offer habits that suit them. Be attentive to signs of fatigue and keep in mind the schedules and habits that suit them best for night and nap time. As each child has their own needs and rhythm, it's important to be attentive to these by being as observant as possible.