How to Buy a Sleeping Bag for Your Child

Children require small sleeping bags to stay warm; otherwise their body heat will be spent keeping the empty bottoms of their bags warm. Find the right sleeping bag - perhaps one that grows with your child.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Dry Cleaners
• Children's Sleeping Bags
• Sleep Pads
• Stuff Sacks

1. Expect to spend from $20 to more than $200 for a sleeping bag for your child.
2. Consider the conditions your child is likely to be sleeping in. You don't need many features for summer camping trips, backyard sleeping and slumber parties, but if you're planning to camp at temperatures below 25 degrees F, you'll need a good bag.
3. Consider purchasing a children's mummy bag for temperatures below 25 degrees F. These are hooded and will fit your child closely, retaining maximum body heat.
4. Have your child get in the bag and try it out - encourage her to turn over, snuggle into it with her teddy bear, and zip it open and closed by herself. The bag should be roomy enough to turn in, but not so roomy that heat will escape.
5. Purchase a bag that is small enough to fit your child. There are two advantages to this: lighter weight for the person carrying the bag and greater warmth for your child.
6. Consider purchasing a "modular bag," which grows with your child for years - usually from about age 3 to age 10. These come with zip-on extensions so your child will have a bag that fits well from one season to the next.
7. Consider purchasing an adult bag and then cinching it shut with an accessory strap just below your child's feet to shorten the space that body heat will travel in. This is especially useful for children who are too large in the shoulders or hips to fit comfortably into a child's narrow bag.
8. Purchase a sleep pad for your child if your child will be sleeping outdoors. No matter how good a sleeping bag you buy, it won't be warm enough without insulating your child from the cold ground.
9. Purchase a wool or fleece hat for your child to wear if sleeping outdoors in cold weather.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure you read the care instructions thoroughly before storing or washing your new sleeping bag. Most sleeping bags require professional cleaning and will lose their insulating properties if stored in a stuff sack.